Coming in with all guns blazing, Swedish blitzkrieg outfit Sabaton do not do anything by halves. Whilst their last global trek was a mighty spectacle, this new production at The O2 made that one look like a village hall panto.
Sabaton – The Legendary Orchestra
The O2, London – 4 December 2025
Words: Paul Monkhouse
Photography: Robert Sutton
Never lacking in ambition, the quintet have equalled Parkway Drive in ‘the most jaw-dropping arena show this year’ awards, the sight of a full-scale castle dominating the whole of one end of the cavernous The O2 Arena, greeting everyone as they drifted in from a cold December night.
With more pyro and lights used in one performance than most bands get through in an entire tour, along with costume changes, extras and special effects, there was more than enough to experience.
While the whole was big budget, the band themselves have a way of connecting with the audience that draws them into the story, rather than just simply being observers of such a cinematic vision.
Sabaton are known for their fixation on conflict through the decades and do so with both taste and passion. They also show they are not afraid of injecting healthy doses of humour into the show, an introduction to the set featuring Napoleon, Genghis Khan and Julius Caesar displaying broad comedy chops.
In contrast, the set itself is full of heroic bombast where blood is shed, steel strikes steel and legends are born, all to the sound of Heavy Metal as it should be played.
A lot of acts seem to rely on an image or production to project themselves. Thankfully, Sabaton have a catalogue of songs that stand on their own, and in a cherry-picked set that features fan favourites along with deeper cuts, there is plenty to enjoy.
Focusing on the new Legends album, just over a quarter of the set featured numbers from the album and with opener Templars alongside A Tiger Among Dragons and Hordes of Khan showing a renewed ferocity, there is no indication that the band have any intention of slowing down.
Another new song, Crossing the Rubicon, shows their skill at capturing thumping hard rock and adding historical elements that mesh together perfectly. The relentless Stormtrooper is another fine example of their technique.
Amongst the mayhem of sheets of flames that can be felt halfway back in the arena and huge images projected onto the castle walls, moments of touching introspection like the elegiac Christmas Truce provide a stark counterpoint.
With Carolus Rex sung in their native tongue and singer Joakim Brodén joking that the tour was sponsored by IKEA and the stage set is available as a self-assembly kit from the retailer, there was plenty of connection to Sweden. But beyond that, their themes are universal and sadly still reflected in the headlines.
As with the Wembley Arena show on the last tour, bassist Pär Sundström reflects on their growth from their sparsely attended London debut at the Purple Turtle to now, a middle-fingered salute to all who doubted them over the years as several thousand voices roared in support.
If their triumph was ever in any doubt, the confetti cannon climax of closer Masters Of The World showed that Sabaton are kings of their own domain and with a battery of Power Metal classics backed with the greatest show on earth, they will continue to win the hearts and minds of legions for years to come.
The Legendary Orchestra
Accompanying the band on this campaign, The Legendary Orchestra do exactly as their name suggests, the massed ranks providing some thrilling arrangements of thirteen Sabaton classics.
Strings, brass, woodwind, percussion and voices join together to provide a glorious and titanic wall of sound, the blend of drama and power a heady mix.
There is a visual flair here too, the sight of the ensemble tearing into the likes of Ghost Division, Bismarck and Angels Calling as visually appealing as it is sonically.
Almost Wagnerian in its scope, this is cinematic classical music with wrecking ball intent and the contrast between the elements juxtaposed with the angelic voices of the choir, all set in the grounds of the castle stage to give a truly epic feel.
Whilst the performances themselves were truly impressive, it is the way that the songs themselves have been so sensitively constructed that tops everything and rather than just do the standard job of jamming the two worlds together, this is a match made in Valhalla.
With a full-blooded and apt Swedish Pagans closing, there could not have been a better way to open the night in truly grandiose style.
A truly legendary evening.
