A Grove of Ashes and Aspens

Now Playing: Templars by Sabaton

So it’s been a minute since we talked about Sabaton around here. Not because I dislike them or anything, I just had my attention on other topics. (And I’ve been a bit busy, but school will do that to a bitch.) Now, they dropped a new album in 2025, and it is another concept album, keeping in a tradition they fully settled in their music with Carolus Rex. This one, however, focuses on the theme of, as the name of the album implies, some of history’s most legendary figures.

As a note before we get into this, I’m a musician, not a historian. As such, I’m going to be looking at these tracks purely from a musical perspective and will only provide a little note on what the song is about, as I lack the necessary perspective to be able to comment on the history aspect of the songs themselves. If you want the history element, they have Sabaton History for that, and there are plenty of other resources online.

Templars, the opening track, is about the trials and dissolution of the Knights Templar. It’s a powerful opener, with a soft choral intro before hitting with the drums. It feels almost reminiscent of some earlier Sabaton albums, and I quite like it. It includes some synth work alongside the main instrumentation we’ve come to expect from them. The darker sound carries over from The War to End All Wars, and I think it is quite fitting of the topic, keeping everything heavy and full. There’s a lot of really nice texture to it, and I think it’s interesting to have this kind of take on a topic like the Knights Templar.

Hordes of Khan is, as the name implies, about the invasions and conquests of Genghis Khan. It’s a bit faster, keeping a bit more of a hard driving pace than Templars. It keeps the energy high and interest going. The chorus balances the choral backing vocals with Joakim’s leads beautifully, keeping the entire track feeling almost larger than life. The entire track feels very epic, as these stories so often are.

A Tiger Among Dragons opens with just some percussion, adding some melodic hits to catch interest right off the bat. It’s about the life of Lü Bu, and it feels almost ethereal in a way, with the way the instrumentals are set up. I find it to be an interesting track and one that I want to maybe see if I can break down at some point to see exactly what’s going on. It’s not quite as in your face with the speed as Hordes of Khan, but it still has a very driving pace to keep the interest going. The organized rhythmic chaos keeps everything fun as well, almost feeling like it’s unstable while still feeling properly grounded.

Crossing the Rubicon is about Julius Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon river. It opens with an almost Last Stand style fade in with the guitar and establishment of the central melody of the chorus. This song is definitely the most The Last Stand style track on this album, and I like having a bit of a stylistic callback to a previous album. It brings in that nostalgia for older albums while adding in some newer sounds the band has been working with to keep it from getting stale. It feels very fun and very “we won’t forget our roots.” It also has the standard Sabaton key change right near the end, which is always fun to hear.

I, Emperor is about Napoleon Bonaparte, and it has a bit of a Carolus Rex type of feel. It keeps that stylistic callback going while also using some newer stylistic stuff the band has been working with. It also has this sort of driving compound time feel that I’ve been really liking in some music from other bands. It keeps the entire vibe very solid and I can see this song being a live show staple for a while.

Maid of Steel is about Joan of Arc and her duality as a soldier and a woman. It has a bit more of the driving speed that can be found in Hordes of Khan, and it’s really fun. The bridge is very interesting and I really like how prominent the backing choir is there. It feels very fun and I can see this being a fun track live.

Impaler is about Vlad the Impaler. This is also a track that feels reminiscent of Carolus Rex stylistically in a way, and I quite like it. It feels very dark and mysterious, almost like it’s drawing the listener in and trying to almost seduce the listener with the idea of an imposing tyrant hidden behind the mask of a kindly ruler. (I know that’s not the actual story, and they are honest about it, but that’s the vibe I’m getting.) It slots very nicely into the album, keeping everything very balanced between the faster and more driving tracks and the slower and more mysterious tracks.

Lightning at the Gates is about Hannibal leading a crossing of the Alps. This also feels like it could be from the Carolus Rex era, maybe a little earlier. It feels a bit reminiscent of Soldier of Heaven to an extent, and I kinda like that. The track keeps the driving pace going without getting too in your face and keeping it slower, which can be a really hard balance to strike. It’s generally a fun little track and I quite like it.

The Duelist is about Miyamoto Musashi, a Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist and writer. As a track, it feels very interesting and fun. It keeps the power going, tempered with the darkness of the album as a whole. I really like it, it’s a fun track.

The Cycle of Songs is about Egyptian pharaoh Senusret III. Starting with some fun synth and distorted guitars, it brings in interest and sets up a very thematic sound. The entire song keeps up the mysterious sound set up in other tracks, and it keeps itself from being too much by balancing the mystery with power. It keeps interest with little changes in the vocal melody and some fun little drum fills. I think it’s a solid track.

Till Seger is the most overt love letter to previous albums, being a song in Swedish about Gustavus Adolphus and the rise of the Swedish Empire, which was also part of the inspiration behind the album Carolus Rex. It has a beautiful organ intro (played by Joakim, who is a trained organist, he has talked about this in interviews) before getting into the actual song itself. This is something they’ve pulled before, and I love it every time, because what do you mean your singer can just. Casually do that. The worst part is that it works so well. It also has this fun compound time feel that always just tickles my brain in all the best ways. It’s truly such a strong end to a solid album and I love it so much. It’s a very fun song.

So overall, this album is really good. It doesn’t quite capture my interest in the same ways as some of their older stuff, but it has elements of those older albums mixed in, and I really like that. It’s a Sabaton album and I think that’s fun.