Swedish metal legends SABATON have unleashed their brand-new single and video, “Templars”. The track will feature on the band’s soon-to-be-announced eleventh studio album, set for release later this year via SABATON’s new label home, Better Noise Music.
Coinciding with the digital release of “Templars”, SABATON are offering fans a special one-sided 12-inch vinyl single, strictly limited to 1,000 copies worldwide, due out on 27 June.
The cinematic “Templars” video, filmed at two historical fortresses in Serbia, captures the epic atmosphere the band are renowned for.
“‘Templars’ is the first song we wrote for our forthcoming album and it truly brings out the theatrical side of SABATON,” says bassist and manager Pär Sundström. “From the moment we started working on it, we were overflowing with ideas on how to bring it to life on stage. We didn’t just want to play it — we wanted to show it!”
SABATON — Joakim Brodén (vocals), Pär Sundström (bass), Chris Rörland (guitar), Thobbe Englund (guitar), and Hannes Van Dahl (drums) — are world-famous for crafting songs about historical battles, wars, and acts of heroism, building a fiercely loyal fanbase. To date, SABATON have racked up over three billion streams across all platforms and almost two billion views on YouTube.
The “Templars” video imagines a fictionalised final stand of the Knights Templar. The SABATON members take on the roles of the last remaining Templars, sworn to protect their order’s secrets. When they receive word of their impending arrest for heresy, they prepare for battle. Facing an enemy army sent by King Philip IV of France, the Templars refuse to surrender, fighting until only one warrior remains. In a final heroic act, he defeats the enemy commander and sets fire to the fortress, ensuring their secrets are lost to history.
The epic battle scenes were filmed at Belgrade Fortress within Kalemegdan Park and Smederevo Fortress, offering an authentic and dramatic backdrop. To bring the action to life, SABATON collaborated with a large group of experienced reenactors, many with film production backgrounds, ensuring the battles felt as real as they looked. Shot over two gruelling days in the sweltering Serbian summer, the intense conditions added even more raw energy to the production.
In a special moment, Thobbe Englund, who had only just returned to SABATON after almost eight years away, was given the role of the final Templar standing.
Initially, the plan was for him to wear a helmet so that a stuntman could step in for the demanding fight scene. However, the stunt coordinator had a different idea. He decided to take on the fight alongside Thobbe himself. While the battle was carefully choreographed, moments of improvisation added to its intensity. Clad in 40 kilos of armour, the two clashed with such force that the impact rumbled like an earthquake. To make things even more challenging, the scene was filmed in the scorching summer heat, and Thobbe was battling a fever at the time. Yet, he powered through, delivering a performance that was nothing short of legendary — a fitting way to mark his triumphant return to SABATON.
Signing with Better Noise Music marks a new era for SABATON. The label has a strong reputation for innovative artist development and cross-media strategies, helping build international success stories. Better Noise was named Billboard’s No. 1 Mainstream Rock Airplay Label and Imprint of 2024.
“We’re truly excited to begin this new chapter with Better Noise Music,” Pär Sundström comments. “After exploring various record labels worldwide, we found Better Noise to be the perfect fit. As an independent label, they haven’t traditionally focused on our style of heavy metal, making this collaboration particularly exciting. We’re excited to see how this partnership develops, confident that they’re ready to embrace the challenge of working with a band that brings a unique sound to their roster.”
“We’re thrilled to welcome SABATON to our roster,” says Lexie Viklund, director of A&R at Better Noise. “Their powerful music and storytelling have resonated with fans worldwide, and we’re eager to amplify their presence in the U.S. while continuing to grow their global impact.”
In a recent interview with Radioactive MikeZ of 96.7 KCAL-FM’s “Wired In The Empire”, Joakim Brodén spoke about the new material:
“Yeah, we’re working on new material always, it feels like. I mean, if we’re done [with] an album, I feel like, ‘Screw that. I don’t wanna write music for a while now.’ But there I am three months later writing new music. Maybe I’ll sit with one of the guitarists on tour one day, and we’ll be bored on a day off because there wasn’t that much to do that day. It was Sunday. Everything’s closed. So let’s grab our gear and crank out a song because it’s better than doing nothing.”
He continued:
“We already have some material. So it’s not like we are, after this, gonna take a break and then start writing. We’re in the works already.”
On how he feels once an album is completed, Joakim shared:
“For me, when an album is ready, I — sorry to say — fucking hate it, because first process… And I’m not the only songwriter in the band, but I’m the one who writes most of the music. And I’m involved with lyrics or in most of the songs and almost all of the songs in a musical way. So I spend months in the studio writing, alone or with somebody, then getting all the pre-productions ready, which is me again cleaning up takes and what are we gonna do putting it all together, delivering it to everybody in the band so they can practice. Then we go into the studio. And then I’m the constant in the studio, keeping track of everything, making sure everything is [as it should be], with the producer. So I’m there for the whole recording. Then I take a little break, and then the audio engineer starts mixing. And then I come in again for the mixing. And then, at that point, I’m already tired of the songs. And then all you do from that point on is try to find problems and errors. What went wrong? What’s wrong here? Do we need to do a retake on something? Should we fix something? Oh, is that too loud? Do we need to EQ? So at that point I’ve programmed myself to only hear the problems with the album. So by the time like the master is done, I fucking hate it. I’m so tired of that music. So it’ll take me a year or two before I can even, in some objective way, listen to it again.”
“The War to End All Wars” was the final SABATON album to feature guitarist Tommy Johansson, who has since been replaced by returning member Thobbe Englund. Thobbe originally joined the band in April 2012 before stepping away in July 2016. He rejoined in February 2024.
Englund recorded two albums with SABATON — “Heroes” (2014) and “The Last Stand” (2016) — and contributed to fan favourites like “Shiroyama” and “Fields Of Verdun”.
Looking ahead, in November 2025, SABATON will kick off “The Legendary Tour”, a massive 20-city European run promised to be “a huge celebration of SABATON’s music, storytelling and the incredible bond they share with their fans,” featuring “The Legendary Orchestra and other surprises,” delivering an “unprecedented” experience.
Last autumn, SABATON also joined forces with Judas Priest as the main support act on their North American tour.
Over more than two decades, SABATON have earned quadruple-platinum sales, headlined major festivals, played sold-out arena shows globally, and built a reputation as one of heavy metal’s most innovative bands. Combining high-concept albums with massive stage productions, SABATON’s legacy includes six gold, two platinum, and one four-times platinum awards, eight Top 10 international albums, and six Top 5 finishes.
A highlight of their career came in 2019 when SABATON headlined both stages at Wacken Open Air — the world’s biggest metal festival — simultaneously. In 2023, they also donated their full-length animated movie to museums worldwide as part of a charity initiative supporting historical preservation. Celebrating 25 years as a band, SABATON released The Tour To End All Tours concert film, which screened across more than 1,200 cinemas in 28 territories.
