Domingo 1 Mai 2011, 1h:08
Tue 26 Apr – North American Tour
Having been very impressed with the latest albums from both Accept and Sabaton, I was hugely looking forward to seeing them live for the first time. While Accept are enjoying the second wind brought by Blood of the Nations, Sabaton are reveling in their first taste of North American touring, thanks to Coat of Arms. Aided by three good opening acts and a full, raucous crowd at El Corazon, the legends and the new guard went balls to the wall in Seattle.
Support was provided by local bands Skelator, Zero Down and Sword of Justice - none of whom sucked, believe it or not. They may have been the three most entertaining opening bands I've ever seen. Their music was sharp, relevant and they didn't overstay their welcome. I'm not familiar with any of them to provide a more in-depth review, but my favorite of the trio was Sword of Judgment. Taylor Enloe pulled off some very impressive leads, and Jam Gandy was absolutely monstrous behind his kit. Very pleasing to watch and listen to, and that goes for Skelator and Zero Down as well.
But all eyes and ears were on the stage when Europe's "The Final Countdown" started playing on the PA. After a brief instrumental loop, Sabaton took the stage for their first performance in Seattle. Anthems were the theme for the night, and "Ghost Division" was a fitting way to start the night's festivities. Even though Accept were the headliners for the night, the force was fully with Sabaton.
From the charge of the "Ghost Division", Sabaton delivered songs from as far back as 1994's Primo Victoria (which had the whole of El Corazon jumping with the chorus) to last year's Coat of Arms. For every assault, Daniel Mÿhr's keyboards did battle with Oskar Montelius' and Rikard Sundén 's guitars, unloading a barrage of metal and melody on the crowd. Joakim Brodén mixed his exuberant bounding around the small stage with the occasional somber reminders: elation and pride at performing in Seattle for the first time was balanced with a heartfelt thanks to American veterans bailing the Swedes out of trouble in World War II.
By far, though, the most poignant moment of the performance was when a member of the 101st Airborne Division - an original Screaming Eagle - was brought to the front of the room to present his flag, bearing the shoulder sleeve insignia of the division. Upon learning that there was an Eagle in attendance, Sabaton actually amended their set to include "Screaming Eagles". It wasn't one of the songs I was hoping to see (although we did get the epic "Cliffs of Gallipoli"), but it whipped up the El Corazon crowd into a frenzy. Daniel Mullback's drums may have been pushed to the side to accommodate Accept's huge drum riser, but he beat the hell out of them to give Seattle a night to remember.
Being openers, Sabaton's set was limited to just nine songs, but they finished on a huge high with the "Metal Machine" / "Metal Crüe" medley, saluting the bands that everyone in attendance loved (including, ironically, Accept). Even they were cheered off stage, the chants of "Sabaton" followed them. There would be no encore, of course - opening bands should be so lucky - but if what they gave us on that night was any indication, a (bigger) return to these shores shouldn't be too far away.
http://seattleconcerts.com/news/accept-sabatons-north-american-tour-el-corazon-seattle