Sabaton (w/ BABYMETAL & Lordi) Bring the Metal at Leeds’ First Direct Arena [Photos]

Leeds’ impressive First Direct Arena welcomed the opening night of Sabaton’s “Tour to End all Tours” tour and it was a truly sensational experience. When they put on a show. They put on a SHOW!

As tends to happen on opening nights there were a few gremlins that hadn’t yet been ironed out, and unfortunately for openers Lordi, it was they who suffered most with occasional glitches in sound throughout their set.

It didn’t deter the one-time Eurovision winners at all, and their sense of humour, dark and twisted as it is, carried them through with no other problems. With “Who’s Your Daddy” and “Hard Rock Hallelujah” being standouts.

Next up were Japanese phenomena BABYMETAL, a ‘Kawaii Metal’ band that has risen to massive popularity since they formed in 2010. Kawaii metal means they blend Eastern and Western influences through metal and J-pop. They are backed by a band that resembles the Nameless Ghouls from Ghost who bring the metal as they sing and perform highly choreographed routines in front of an impressive light display.

It’s a great visual feast, and with tracks like “Babymetal Death,” “PA PA YA!” and “Metalizm” they blow an already hyped-up audience away – but it’s “Gimme Chocolate” that really highlights the juxtaposed ‘cute metal’ meaning of Kawaii. With its rapid lyric delivery, catchy hook, and driving metal, it’s as catchy as it is bizarre and one of those earworms that you can’t stop singing to yourself.

When it came time for headliners Sabaton to appear, it was a first chance to see the colossal production they had created for this tour. The gremlins appeared again with a glitch meaning the band’s entrance was mistimed with the intro and what looked like a speaker blowing in the rafters but none of that mattered once the band started playing “Ghost Division.”

With war being the central theme of their whole vibe it was impressive to see the scale and attention to detail of the show. From sandbags and barbed wire lining the front of the stage, the drummer sitting atop a giant tank in the centre, to the fact that they made it snow in the arena to create the perfect atmosphere during “Christmas Truce.”

Oh yeah, there was Pyro too. Lots of it!

The number of bangs and the amount of fire that poured from the stage were overwhelming. There’s a clue in the title of “Into the Fire,” obviously, but throughout the whole set, there was always something going off. When there wasn’t a flash or bang there was probably Joakim in a gasmask firing a smoke gun at the crowd or guitar solo on a tank happening. As far as visual stimulants go, this show is all in.

Musically, it sounded as massive as the set production. With last year’s A War to End All Wars album being heavily featured, they debuted several tracks, including a cover of Motorhead’s emotionally charged “1916,” which Lemmy wrote after watching a documentary on the Battle of the Somme. A perfect fit for the show and band.

The only thing that felt a bit ‘Spinal Tap’ about the show was when the plane prop was wheeled out for “The Red Baron” late on in the set. It just didn’t have the scale to create any impact and looked a bit like a child’s ride positioned next to the tank drum riser as it was.

Sabaton’s “Tour to End All Tours” is truly the hottest arena show on the road at the moment, and it will be interesting where they take this (headlining Download or Bloodstock, maybe?) and to see how they build upon this in the future.

Sabaton (w/ BABYMETAL, Lordi) @ First Direct Arena (Leeds, UK) on April 14, 2023

43 photos