Sabaton: Gloomy weather makes for great metal

Sabaton have credited the weather and the government for Scandinavia's host of great metal bands.

Singer Joakim Broden and guitarist Thobbe Englund tell Welcome To The D in the video below that in their home country of Sweden, the government subsidises rehearsal space for bands. And they add that the weather in Sweden and neighbouring Finland probably has something to do with the popularity of heavy metal in the region.

Joakim says: “I do believe the climate can have something to do with it. In Sweden, and especially in Finland, it’s cold. And the state will sponsor your playing. It’s way easier and cheaper. Rehearsal rooms can be rented for almost no money at all. So it’s easier to get into music.

“If you look at Finland for example, our neighbours, it’s probably the only country in the world where if a metal band release an album, let’s say Nightwish or a band like that release an album, they will kick Britney Spears and Madonna, all of these guys, off the chart. They will have no chance if they release in the same week that Nightwish do.”

The video also includes footage from the band’s gig in Detroit and shows Joakim making one young fan’s night. Dylan Eshedor, who is 12-years-old and was attending his seventh heavy metal gig, was starstruck when the frontman handed him his sunglasses and tells him he must have “a kick-ass dad” to have been to so many metal shows.

Sabaton on Welcome To The D

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.