{"id":1040,"date":"2025-12-05T18:59:28","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T18:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/?p=1040"},"modified":"2026-04-23T17:42:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T17:42:41","slug":"sabaton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/05\/sabaton\/","title":{"rendered":"Sabaton"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Co-Op Live, Manchester, 5\/12\/2025<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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I\u2019d been wanting to see Sabaton for quite some time, over the last couple of years they\u2019ve slowly crept their way into becoming one of my most listened to artists (adds up for someone who works in the history\/tourism sector\u2026) so the opportunity to make a day of their tour stop in Manchester was certainly a welcome one.<\/p>

I was actually really lucky that the gig already lined up with a scheduled trip back across the Pennines, since I was heading on a trip to Copenhagen with some pals the following day. If I\u2019d known at the time just how much I\u2019d enjoy Sabaton\u2019s performance, I\u2019d have honestly extended my stay in Denmark a little longer to catch the set again. Luckily for my bank account, I was still somewhat in the dark about what was to come.<\/p>

Once I hopped off the surprisingly easy train journey from York to Manchester, I made my way across town on the tram to St Peter\u2019s Square for a quick pit stop before heading home. The band had announced a few weeks previously that there would be pop-up shops dotted along the tour route, each one stocked with city-specific exclusives, so naturally I couldn\u2019t resist making a quick detour.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Set inside the People\u2019s History Museum, the Manchester pop-up felt like a clever merging of worlds: Sabaton\u2019s fascination with the past sitting comfortably within a space dedicated to it. Even better, the museum itself was free entry, which made the whole stop feel even more worthwhile \u2014 part refined cultural visit, part merch mission Alongside the usual spread of tour merch was the standout piece: a Manchester-exclusive shirt featuring the town hall, part of a wider run where each city got its own design featuring a local building of historical significance. It\u2019s such a simple idea, but one that adds a layer of collectability and place-based memory to the tour. Of course\u2026 I picked one up. And a beanie\u2026 it was a chilly December afternoon after all.<\/p>

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From there, it was a quick pit stop at home, and then time to head back out over to Co-op Live. This was my second time at the venue and credit where it\u2019s due \u2014 it\u2019s a pretty solid arena. There\u2019s something about the scale and layout of the venue that feels distinctly European; it reminds me a lot of the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, which is definitely not a bad thing. It\u2019s absolutely massive without feeling cold and impersonal (a lot of this is down to the staff, they were all super friendly which goes a long way), and it\u2019s got a big in house Co-Op if you fancy a meal deal. What more could you want?! Being the newest large-scale venue in the UK, it\u2019s bound to be pretty good, but if you ever get the opportunity to catch a gig here I\u2019d 100% recommend checking it out.<\/p>

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And then, the show.<\/p>

Sabaton opened with the Legendary Orchestra, and I\u2019m not exaggerating when I say it genuinely gave me chills. Hearing those songs reimagined through a full orchestral arrangement added a completely different emotional weight \u2014 for me, the kind that settles in the back of your throat. It transformed tracks that already feel cinematic into something even bigger, almost reverent. Mia Asano and Patty Gurdy (who I\u2019d seen before performing with Alestorm in 2025) also added a great energy to the stage, and genuinely looked like they were having a lot of fun performing with the band. As someone who already likes leaning into the historical narratives behind their music, it felt like watching those tales take on a new medium, and I think The Legendary Orchestra gave a great performance in their own right, I\u2019d definitely love to see them live again one day!<\/p>

When Sabaton themselves took to the stage, the energy didn\u2019t drop for a minute. If anything, it escalated. The production value alone is worth talking about, the travelling stage set, costumes, actors AND pyro\u2026 it all felt very meticulously designed. At times it blurred the line between gig and full-scale stage show, in the best possible way. There were professional actors woven into the performance, which gave bits of crowd interaction that felt playful rather than forced, and a real sense that this wasn\u2019t just a setlist being run through, but a story being performed. It was also fun seeing how the actors interacted differently with the crowds in different cities \u2014 it was quite Dungeon reminiscent in a way, but also showed to me that Sabaton are deeply interested in the history of material they perform and the overall experience they want to give their fans at gigs.<\/p>

One of the standout moments for me was Attack of the Dead Men. The band moved out over, then into and through the crowd during the song, which added such a visceral, immersive layer to it. Even from the seats, I had a great view, and honestly didn\u2019t feel like I missed out on anything \u2014 if anything, it gave me a chance to properly take in the scale of everything happening.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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By the end of the night, it was one of those gigs where you leave slightly stunned, talking about it the whole way home. I went in expecting a solid show from a band I\u2019d grown to really like, but came out feeling like I\u2019d experienced something much bigger. Somewhere between a concert and a theatrical production, Sabaton delivered a performance that was as entertaining as it was thoughtfully put together.<\/p>

For me, it\u2019s easily a contender for gig of the year… and as someone with a soft spot for history, it was a 10\/10.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Co-Op Live, Manchester, 5\/12\/2025 \u00a0 I\u2019d been wanting to see Sabaton for quite some time, over the last couple of years they\u2019ve slowly crept their way into becoming one of my most listened to artists (adds up for someone who works in the history\/tourism sector\u2026) so the opportunity to make a day of their tour […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1041,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[16,29],"class_list":["post-1040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gigs","tag-manchester","tag-power-metal"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/560572081_18486484504077957_5426766065413392812_n.jpg",1000,1250,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/560572081_18486484504077957_5426766065413392812_n.jpg",1000,1250,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/560572081_18486484504077957_5426766065413392812_n.jpg",1000,1250,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/560572081_18486484504077957_5426766065413392812_n-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/560572081_18486484504077957_5426766065413392812_n-240x300.jpg",240,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/560572081_18486484504077957_5426766065413392812_n-819x1024.jpg",800,1000,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/560572081_18486484504077957_5426766065413392812_n.jpg",1000,1250,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/560572081_18486484504077957_5426766065413392812_n.jpg",1000,1250,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Izzy Grady","author_link":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/author\/izzytheadmin_6534540\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Gigs<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Co-Op Live, Manchester, 5\/12\/2025 \u00a0 I\u2019d been wanting to see Sabaton for quite some time, over the last couple of years they\u2019ve slowly crept their way into becoming one of my most listened to artists (adds up for someone who works in the history\/tourism sector\u2026) so the opportunity to make a day of their tour…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1040"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1138,"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1040\/revisions\/1138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/satansells.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}