Scribed by Sandre the Giant
Sabaton are one of those bands that have gradually built themselves from underground heavy metal heroes (pardon the pun) into bona fide, stadium filling metal gods. They really hit the peak of their powers on 2012’s ‘Carolus Rex’, the predecessor to this record, and it left ‘Heroes’ in an interesting position as the follow up to what most fans consider to be THE best Sabaton album. ‘Heroes’ is now a decade old, so where does it sit in the pantheon and evolution of one of modern power metal’s biggest acts?
‘Heroes’ is another concept album, this time based around a set of singular heroic acts from history. You’ve got “Bull” Allen, who rescued 12 men under fire in Papua New Guinea, you’ve got the ‘Night Witches’ of the all female Soviet bombing regiment, and probably the most famous song here ‘To Hell and Back’, which features Audie Murphy and his battles with PTSD after becoming one of the most decorated American veterans of WWII. As a big history guy myself, Sabaton’s lyrical themes have always been a major draw to me. I mean, I’d have never heard about so many of these people or events without them, and then delved further into their stories on my own.
Musically you know exactly what to expect, and Sabaton will never let you down in that way. Anthems of the highest order, hooks a mile wide and their trademark lyrical dedication to giving you these stories in such a way that you’ll feel educated and entertained in the same breath. A classic power metal gallop infuses ‘Smoking Snakes’ with one of the band’s more underrated cuts, that iconic whistle at the start of ‘To Hell and Back’ is now a staple of their live shows, and the fiery defiance of ‘Resist and Bite’ is a perfect encapsulation of these Swedish veterans’ sound.
‘Heroes’ had an unenviable task in following up ‘Carolus Rex’, but succeeded in part due to its collection of strong individual songs, linked by a theme, as opposed to it’s predecessor’s almost ‘metal opera’ style and concept. To this day, it still has one of my favourite Sabaton songs on it (‘No Bullets Fly’), and it was also this tour that the band really started to fill those bigger venues in the UK as well. Fast forward ten years and they’re playing to five figure crowds, all built on great albums like this. ‘Heroes’ wasn’t the start of their ascension, but it was an important stepping stone.