SABATON: ‘We Have A Lot Of Activities Planned For Our 25th-Anniversary Celebration’ In 2024

Swedish metallers SABATON will enter the studio in January to begin recording their eleventh album. The follow-up to 2022’s “The War To End All Wars” is tentatively due later in 2024 via Nuclear Blast Records.

SABATON revealed a rough timeline for the band’s next release in a Christmas video message which was posted on the band’s YouTube channel earlier today (December 24). In the video, which can be seen below, guitarist Tommy Johansson said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “In a couple of weeks from now, we’ll be entering the studio to record some new songs. Yes, new music is on the horizon. I’m excited, Chris [Rörland, guitar] is excited. Hannes [Van Dahl, drums] is excited. We’re all excited.”

Added singer Joakim Brodén: “Obviously we can’t share too much now, but it’s gonna be cool. And on top of this, we have a lot of activities planned for our 25th-anniversary celebration.”

Regarding how SABATON plans to mark the quarter-century milestone, Hannes said: “A lot of next year will be spent looking to the future and also going back in time. We’re gonna be reflecting on some of the things we have achieved and going through all of the milestones we’ve hit as a band. Every month we are going to meet up and dedicate one evening to listening to an album together. During these evenings, we’re gonna be chatting about the album and all the memories we have connected to it, plus loads more. This will give you an exclusive info and stories that you’ve never heard before.”

Last month, SABATON bassist and manager Pär Sundström confirmed to FaceCulture that he and his bandmates have been “busy” in the last few months “working on new music.”

Referencing the fact that SABATON is known for its lyrics and music videos that tell the stories of real war heroes and historical battles and wars, Sundström stated about a possible lyrical direction for the band’s next LP: “I’m not gonna talk about where we’re gonna go. I just say, okay, we can confirm that we are moving away from the First World War and we are going somewhere else in the history, ’cause we will still sing about history. And we are very excited about the topic that we have chosen.”

SABATON recently released the animated movie “The War To End All Wars”, which tells the stories from the “The War To End All Wars” album. It begins with “Sarajevo”, a song about the assassination of Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand, which sparked World War I. It ends with “Versailles”, about the 1918 Treaty Of Versailles that ended the war.

SABATON also has the Sabaton History channel on YouTube, which includes historical looks at World War II, Swedish military history and even the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica, among others.

In September 2022, SABATON announced a new EP trilogy titled “Echoes Of The Great War”. The trilogy features new songs specifically about World War I, coupled with topically related catalog music.

The last EP in the “Echoes Of The Great War” EP trilogy, “Stories From The Western Front”, was made available in April on all platforms. It features a never-heard-before cover of MOTÖRHEAD‘s well-known track “1916”.

SABATON climbed the international charts with its tenth studio album, “The War To End All Wars”, securing No. 1 positions in Germany, Austria, Sweden, Poland, Hungary and Finland. Having achieved the top position for the second time in Germany, Sweden and Finland, the album peaked at No. 1 in Poland, Hungary and Austria for the first time in the band’s career. This and additional outstanding results in other territories have made “The War To End All Wars” SABATON‘s most successful album so far.