Late on Christmas Eve, British Expeditionary Force heard German troops in the trenches opposite them singing Christmas carols and saw lanterns and small fir trees along their trenches. Messages began to be shouted between the trenches. The following day, British and German soldiers met in no man's land and exchanged gifts, took pictures and some even played football. It was a rare but magic moment of peace and harmony in the midst of one of the most atrocious events of the 20th century.
Today, Swedish metal heroes SABATON release a song about this extraordinary event that is known today as "Christmas Truce". You can check out the video for "Christmas Truce" below.
"'Christmas Truce' was our highest priority when we decided to write songs about World War One," said SABATON bass player Pär Sundström. "Not only was it the most requested topic from our fans, but it was, for us, the most emotional story from the war. This song took us years to create since we wanted the music to reflect the mood honesty, and it was a big challenge; but we feel we managed to write a song that captures the spirit of that day, over a century ago."
"Christmas Truce" foreshadows SABATON's tenth studio album, "The War To End All Wars", that will be released on March 4, 2022 via Nuclear Blast Records. Written and recorded during the COVID-19 global pandemic, the concept album of 11 brand-new songs once again dives deep into the atrocities, miracles, and events tied to the early 20th century’s World War I. The tenth album of the Falun-based five-piece will be available in an impressive variety of exclusive formats, including CD, vinyl, and cassette, with most available in limited editions.
"The War To End All Wars" track listing:
01. Sarajevo
02. Stormtroopers
03. Dreadnought
04. The Unkillable Soldier
05. Soldier Of Heaven
06. Hellfighters
07. Race To The Sea
08. Lady Of The Dark
09. The Valley Of Death
10. Christmas Truce
11. Versailles
In a recent interview with Canada's The Metal Voice, SABATON frontman Joakim Brodén said about the musical direction of the band's new material: "It's very much a SABATON album in that way. We've been an evolutionary band always and not a revolutionary band. There's always surprises on a SABATON album but we're never gonna flip the coin and do something totally different on every song on a new album. There's gonna be surprises on every album. I'm actually listening to and approving the master of the new album right now.
"It's always subjective," he continued. "I think it's pathetic when an artist goes, 'It's the best album we've ever made,' and they keep promoting the same tired line. I say it's up to the listener to decide that, but I know for a fact that everybody in the band, without even sitting in the same room together, because I sort of shipped out the pre-mixes to everyone, and everybody — this is the only time in our history this has happened — everybody came back with, 'Fuck. That sounds great.' Everybody is super happy with the production. We were always happy before, but it was, like, 'Maybe this, maybe that.' Now it was more like, 'Okay, yeah, I have some suggestions and ideas, but wow.' We're really happy with the sound."
SABATON is considered to be one the most important bands to emerge from the Swedish modern metal scene, having been honored with five Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards (including "Best Live Band" three different years) and nominated several times for the Swedish equivalent of the Grammy Awards, the Grammis. In 2016, SABATON's "The Last Stand" album debuted at No. 1 in three different European countries and cracked the Top 3 in four others. Joakim Brodén (vocals), Pär Sundström (bass), Chris Rörland (guitar), Hannes Van Dahl (drums) and Tommy Johansson (guitar) curate a festival of their own, Sabaton Open Air, that started back in 2008, as well as their own forward-thinking Sabaton Cruise which has been held since 2009.
