Lordi probably doesn’t need much of an introduction after their win at the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, even less do they need an introduction in Finland. Strangely enough the Ice Hall still pretty empty by the time Lordi started their set, even though there was a big line of people waiting already long before the doors opened. That leaves me wondering if people simply didn’t care anymore about Lordi‘s performance, or if they couldn’t get in on time. Nonetheless, Lordi are as lovely as monsters could be and even though it’s understandable there isn’t that great atmosphere when you play in front of such an empty hall, they did a pretty good job warming up that are already there. After 45 minutes, they finish their set as usual with the iconic ‘Hard Rock Hallelujah‘.

Next up is Babymetal. I must confess, I’m pretty new to their Metal Universe, so I didn’t quite know what to expect. Well I certainly didn’t expect this, although, it is pretty much exactly what they say it is. It’s cute metal and a mix between heavy metal and Japanese idol culture. It is a LOT to take in all at once. The very classic and very well played metal music combined the kinda girly lyrics and singing. The shiny costumes that sparkle every time the light hits them, the dances and the jumping. Honestly, I just don’t know on what I should focus with all this going on. But while I don’t think I have really grasped the whole concept of what’s going on, I must say I strangely enjoy it. And this seems also to be the case for a lot of the rest of the audience. This is probably the most interesting thing I’ve seen in a while. The only downside for me is that the pop group dancing part is just a tad too rehearsed for my taste, but that’s most likely just do to cultural differences.

And then Sabaton starts with a big bang. Literally, as they, as part of the show, pretend to have some technical problems. And they continue just as loud during their first song, ‘Ghost Division‘. There’s sparks and bangs like grenades. Even thought we had been warned about this in advance as photographers, it’s still almost too much. I feel very fortunate that this hopefully is as close to being at a real battlefield as I ever have to be. I can feel the terror. Don’t get me wrong, while I can’t say that I especially enjoyed this, I think it’s a very fitting way for Sabaton to start their show. After all, they don’t want to glorify war, they want to educate about it. But I guess Jäähalli isn’t quite used to this kinda amount of heat, fire and smoke. It appears that a lot of the smoke moved to the food court and set off the fire alarms there, which I found a hilariously well fitting addition to the spectacle going on inside the arena.

Apparently many people had wished to hear some older songs, so ‘Into the Fire‘ made it back to the setlist. And well, into the fire we went. This is the hottest song of the show, and I mean that literally. I felt like I was melting down there in the photo pit and I can’t even imagine how the band on stage must feel. During this song, almost all the insanely many flamethrowers Sabaton brought along are in use. And there were quite a few, I can’t even count all the places the fire is coming from.

Another request of many fans was to hear more songs in Swedish and so the next song, ‘Carolus Rex‘ was performed in Sabaton‘s mother tongue.
Before the next song starts, bassist Pär brings a framed document to the stage. It’s an honorable mention for the work they have been doing with their history channel, and in particular how Sabaton informed a whole new younger generation about Lauri Allan Törni through the song ‘Soldier of 3 Armies‘.

While the hall is getting more and more heated both, as a figure of speech and literally, the show continued with more great songs, more bangs and of course more fire. And then, just when I thought it could get any hotter, they let it snow. It’s a bit surreal, standing in an almost sauna level heated hall and watching the snow fall on the ‘Soldier of Heaven‘. During the song ‘Father‘ the stage was taken over by two actors, who visualized how Fritz Haber created poison gas to help keep the German war machine afloat. ‘The Attack Of The Dead Man‘ continues the story of chemical warfare, while singer Joakim drowns us in a cloud of smelling green “gas”. Yet again, the visualization is done so well that it is a little uncomfortable.

Then, just as in the real great war, we finally get a much-needed moment to breath. ‘Christmas Truce‘, a song about an unofficial ceasefire on the 24th of December 1914 paints a heart-warming picture of enemies that came together as brothers even for just a few hours. Yet again the snow falls silently on the ground and the band leaves the stage.

But of course we can’t end the show without some encores ‘Primo Victoria‘ and a, in my opinion, far too long spread ‘Swedish Pagans‘ before finally ending with ‘To Hell and Back‘. “But war never ends” are the warning words we hear last before the show really ended. The only criticism I might have is that Joakim wasn’t quite at the top of his game. His voice being a just bit rough at points, but since we’re at the end of a pretty extensive European tour, I guess we can forgive him for that somewhat. Overall, it was a fantastically well-made show, that brought history a bit closer to people. It took a team of roughly 120 people to make this experience possible, but I think it’s worth it. I’m very curious how Sabaton plan to top this on their next tour.