Going To Hell and Back - A Sabaton Extravaganza

Hello again! Late at night, but I don't really mind typing it this late too much. If any, I'll pass out on my recliner chair after typing this out, haha!

Tonight was the big night for me, my BFF and another friend of ours. It was on the very night of April 27, 2017 that would be the big witness of seeing Sabaton headlining their concert instead of opening like they did when I saw Nightwish back in April 2015.

All of us were ready to go and see the Winged Hussars arrive. Even I was very excited, even though I need to catch up on collecting the rest of Sabaton's CDs for the collection.

We arrived at the venue just as the doors for the show opened up to the public. Me and Emily got in line to meet our friend Damian, and we moved ahead in line to eventually get inside, a minute before the first band came up on stage.

Leaves Eyes

This was my first time seeing them, and they aren't really a band that usually will set foot much into Toronto, just like HammerFall. But from what I heard is that they put on a good show, and I was quite curious to see what they were like.

After that epic intro, there began the singing of Elina whom is the new vocalist for the band after Liv who was also known for being in the Cradle of Filth song "Nymphetamine" had left. Her vocals were quite wicked and the sounds of the guitars and beating of the drums were quite reminding me of Epica and their sound in a way. Did I mention that Simone Simons guest starred on one of their stuff?

The show passes by and I proceed to go and buy some merch from the Leaves' Eyes / Battle Beast table, and the merch lady was kind enough for me to point out that she was right there by the table. Needless to say, I went and met her; having a photo with her.

Forgive me if it's a bit blurry, but that is her. :)

I really enjoyed Leaves' Eyes in concert, and I am hoping that this will make me listen to more of their stuff in general and to have more CDs in my collection.

Leaves' Eyes setlist:

1. Halvdan the Black
2. Swords in Rock
3. Edge of Steel
4. Hell to the Heavens
5. Fires in the North
6. Sacred Vow
7. Blazing Waters

Battle Beast

Battle Beast, heavy rockers straight out from Finland had finally set foot onto Toronto soil, and I know a lot of people had been waiting to see them for quite a while. This past February, they released their album "Bringer of Pain". If you can, check out that album!

The singer Noora had a voice that almost reminded me of a mixture of both Cyndi Lauper and all of the 80s hair metal hit singers. She had a voice like no other while exchanging melodies in the songs. Guitars sounded rather nice as well.

When I first heard this band, it was through their song "Lionheart" which I was a bit tad disappointed that they didn't play. Who knows though? Maybe they will play that song when they get a little more popular over here in North America.

Thank you Battle Beast for stepping into Canada, come back soon!

Battle Beast setlist:

1. Straight to the Heart
2. Bringer of Pain
3. Familiar Hell
4. Black Ninja
5. Bastard Son of Odin
6. Out of Control
7. King for a Day
8. Beyond the Burning Skies

After a wait... it finally happened... THE WINGED HUSSARS ARRIVED!!!

Sabaton

The lights immediately dimmed for a moment, unveiling a set of stage lights to shine right down at all of us in its own glory. "In the Army Now" began to play and every single person down on the floor all the way up to the back began to sing along with it until the lights went completely out. "March of War" plays for a minute, but then all of the surprise came when Hannes got up on stage onto his drum kit.

"ALRIGHT TORONTO! WE ARE SABATON, WE PLAY HEAVY METAL!"

The roar of the crowd immediately came with a mosh pit having formed down on the floor as soon as "Ghost Division" began. My friend immediately began to scream every single one of the names for the band members and went absolutely ballistic when Jocke took the stage with his men.

If you are wondering, I wasn't at all in the mosh pit. We were all up at the sound booth to watch the show from there which was quite enjoyable.

The band played a variety of their 90 minute set, and we even got to hear songs not normally heard from them like "Union (Slopes of St. Benedict)" and "Attero Dominatus". You wouldn't believe my reaction when they actually played both "Lion from the North" and "Gott mit uns". I literally belted those two out the best I could, and I didn't care if I wasn't feeling too well.

Yes... they did play "Swedish Pagans". Jocke clearly wasn't impressed with the audience when they kept requesting that song after "Blood of Bannockburn", lol. It's so catchy though, and it's addicting to hear.

From my own eyes, I can see a few things thrown out towards the stage like empty water bottles that gave Jocke a strange look as to why they could be throwing things on stage for them. It wasn't too bad though, as it was mostly from the sight of watching the show at the sound booth of seeing Jocke, Hannes, Par, Tommy and Chris performing all together. They had such a wonderful formula.

Encore comes in after a long good set, and they start off with "The Lost Battalion" which I'm pretty sure me and Emily belted out. "Primo Victoria" follows after that, and all of us are jumping up and down and singing along to the classic song of theirs. "Shiroyama" was also played, finishing off the night with "To Hell and Back".

Overall, I thought this was a very well done show. Sabaton never fails to blow my mind every time, and here's to hoping that they'll be back soon. I might think of travelling to one of their shows, but I do not know the plan yet.

Thank you Sabaton for the wonderful night. The night of where I experienced history, fought alongside the Spartans, rode with the Winged Hussars, saw Carolus rise, and most of all... went to hell and back!

Sabaton setlist:

1. Ghost Division
2. The Art of War
3. Blood of Bannockburn
4. Swedish Pagans
5. Attero Dominatus
6. The Last Stand
7. Union (Slopes of St. Benedict)
8. Sparta
9. The Lion from the North
10. Carolus Rex
11. Gott mit uns (Swedish version) / NOCH EIN BIER!
12. Resist and Bite
13. Night Witches
14. Winged Hussars
15. The Lost Battalion
16. Primo Victoria
17. Shiroyama
18. To Hell and Back

Well, that's another good concert past that I enjoyed a lot.

Next concert coming up for me will be that of seeing the band Xandria in both Montreal and then in Toronto. Being that they are a band I've waited to see for a while now, I am looking forward to seeing them two times.

Better head off to bed now. That was one hell of a night of riding with the Metal Crue.

\m/ Brayden \m/