Sabaton, Babymetal & Lordi, Cardiff International Arena, 16.04.23
This was always going to be an odd one to review, because really I’m not the intended audience. As a millennial music journalist (apparently) I’ve seen it all, a lot on m’colleagues from other publications have seen more. This means we’re all a little jaded, a little burnt out, been there/done that. This was evident on all our faces during one of the band at this show but more on that later (also yes music journos all huddle together like cattle because we can then bore each other to death with stories between bands).
However I realised that I’m approaching this show all wrong if I’m reviewing it as a 30 something journo, the best way to understand this gig would be to look back into the mists of time at what 13 year old Matt would have said. Although he may have been less eloquent, the idea of a show featuring Eurovision winning Monsters, Japanese Anime metal and a band who sing about history and have a tank on stage would make him giddy for a few Cokes (though Pepsi was ok) and lots of bouncing (with knees still intact). So with that fresh faced kid in my mind, it how I’ll approach this review as he’s the target audience…not me.
The CIA is nostalgic to me, is it modern? No, is it the best sounding venue? Absolutely not, but it reminds me of my misspent youth, my early musical education was spent in this building. Now back to its original moniker (Motorpoint be dammed!) it seems to be getting really big gigs recently and so on Sunday night it held a sold out crowd for this rescheduled show, an amazing feat when you think about it but I did feel sorry for any other metal shows on that night as by my reckoning, and the fact I had to stop every 20 seconds to say hello to someone, all of South Wales’ metal fans were packed in to the CIA.
The chants for openers started pretty early and with a build of atmosphere rock monsters Lordi (8) took to the stage for a short 40 minutes of schlock rock. Kicking off with a newbie it wasn’t until Would You Love A Monsterman that the temperature warmed up. The newer members of the band more animated than previous incarnations but most of the eyes stay on the stoic figure of Mr Lordi, stoic due to the expanding wings that appear during Devil Is A Loser and their Eurovision winner Hard Rock Hallelujah, but he keeps the attention with a gravely roar and charisma, even between the songs where he did his damn best to warm the crowd up properly. The new songs were luke-warmly received but the classics like Blood Red Sandman and Who's Your Daddy (which is a little cringe) were sung back loud. I’ve seen Lordi a few times, but each time I do, I’m that kid back in 2005 discovering them for the first time, Monsters are cool, radio friendly hard rock never goes out of fashion and they can whip up a crowd. I’d say that they were the perfect opening act.
Next though is where we have the problem, Babymetal (7) are a divisive band make no mistake, three women in their 20’s choreographed and singing in time with heavy metal, that is rampant with backing tracks, supported by an all masked band. It’s a weird thing for a certain part of the Western audience to understand, a lot of my fellow journos will pan them, the faces were less than impressed but with a level head you have to admire what they do and that it’s not a style of music or performance that is that well known in the UK. Well to a large section of the UK. Babymetal come from the Idol Culture of Japan, bands that are manufactured often featuring mid-teens-20’s girls and boys, chosen by record company executives, producers and more importantly company owners to perform an all singing all dancing show to various styles of music.
These are hit machines, they are very much a commodity rather than an act, a brand over a band if you will. In Japan, its big time and bigger business, for example Idol group AKB48 has 90+ members doing what Babymetal do but to a pop backing, while Hatsune Miku a computer generated performer can sell out stadia both in Japan and here. It’s hard to understand the appeal for a lot of the Western audience but noting the crowd reaction and the amount of people in cosplay, it seems that Babymetal do have a big following in the UK, with younger audience, which is the whole point. They are a gateway band, visually arresting, dusted with J-Pop sugar and backed by a tight, regimented band playing heavy riffs, it brings in another audience and while some may criticize their inclusion on the bill songs like Gimmie Chocolate got the crowd into a frenzy, kids on their dads shoulders and more importantly expose a new generation to bands such as Lordi and the headliners. Is it for me, the 30-something music nerd? No, is it supposed to be? Nope so I can’t slate it.
Babymetal site cleared, curtain dropped and the staging for the headliners revealed to a huge crowd reaction, looking like a military themed Disneyland, it was an impressive piece of staging, the now familiar tank/drum riser stood centre stage as towers, barbed wire and hidden entrances surrounded it. Sabaton (9) have adopted the Iron Maiden approach of big set pieces to accompany the concepts of their songs. It was all going so well as the darkness fell but there was a premature explosion in the middle of the arena, just before the band came on stage. We've all been there, it's embrassing but as the stabbing keys of Ghost Division blared out of the venue P.A, there was a second successful attempt and we were back on course.
This will be their opening song for the rest of their careers and it hits hard every time, from here it was into Bismarck and then The Last Stand, frontman/co-founding member and mastermind Joakim Brodén, the general leading his troops in heavy metal glory as he belted out their history inspired lyrics with his brawny baritone. His between song repartee is funny, informative and confident, telling us that people wanted older songs so they drove into the speedy Into The Fire from Primo Victoria. Hannes Van Dahl's cannon fire drumming and co-founding member Pär Sundström's bass exploding like the Napalm used in Vietnam (the inspiration behind this track).
With a costume change for Carolus Rex, sung in Swedish, and the spiky Winged Hussars, the middle of the set was taken up by four from The War To End All Wars split by their excellent version of Mötohead's 1916. While they had used fire and some costumes before, the theatricality was turned up from here, Stormtroopers having two solders wielding flamethrowers on the turrets, 1916 driven by a solitary marching band snare, as Soldier Of Heaven brought some snowfall. The interplay between guitarists Chris Rörland and Tommy Johansson taking us through peaks and valleys musically while staying inside the power metal remit.
The addition of Father from one of their recent EP's was a welcome one as it's Sabaton showing a heavier side, brilliantly set up as the Father of Mustard Gas floods the stage with smoke supplying gasmasks for the next song Attack Of The Deadmen. (I told you the theatrics increased). Obviously there was a plane for The Red Baron, though I'm sure the next step is to make it fly Maiden style and during the Christmas Truce a lone soldier played a burning piano as this ballad of No Man's Land closed the main set. With eyes wide open and hearts full the chanting for Sabaton grew louder and louder for an encore, young 'uns clambered closer to the stage for their last chance to experience the band as the boidned back on stage with chugging Primo Victoria.
Then of course came the chanting, the "woah woah" refrain for Swedish Pagans pit the two sides of the crowd against each other led by Chris and Tommy, each side getting louder and louder until the end of this long time encore. The final moment of the evening was To Hell And Back and in a flash of cordite and flames it was over. The masses cheered whooped and flooded out of the CIA with goofy grins on their faces, which as a performing artist is all you can wish for.
The massive, colour changing arch that said "The Tour To End All Tours" had perhaps a prophetic double meaning as Sabaton can't hurl this size of production around the world for much longer. They are nearing the time that they will be doing bigger and bigger elements so will need one off shows or festivals to really pull it off, much like Maiden do, touring less frequently or at bigger venues.
If anyone can pull it off Sabaton can as they have done the groundwork, from TJ's in Newport in front of 24 people to the CIA sold out on a Sunday, every step in between has been considered, toyed with, and worked out at length to ensure that it was meteoric rise to where they are now, sitting on top of the tree as one of the most recognisable and accessible metal bands around. These few rescheduled dates solidifying their future headliner status.
However I realised that I’m approaching this show all wrong if I’m reviewing it as a 30 something journo, the best way to understand this gig would be to look back into the mists of time at what 13 year old Matt would have said. Although he may have been less eloquent, the idea of a show featuring Eurovision winning Monsters, Japanese Anime metal and a band who sing about history and have a tank on stage would make him giddy for a few Cokes (though Pepsi was ok) and lots of bouncing (with knees still intact). So with that fresh faced kid in my mind, it how I’ll approach this review as he’s the target audience…not me.
The CIA is nostalgic to me, is it modern? No, is it the best sounding venue? Absolutely not, but it reminds me of my misspent youth, my early musical education was spent in this building. Now back to its original moniker (Motorpoint be dammed!) it seems to be getting really big gigs recently and so on Sunday night it held a sold out crowd for this rescheduled show, an amazing feat when you think about it but I did feel sorry for any other metal shows on that night as by my reckoning, and the fact I had to stop every 20 seconds to say hello to someone, all of South Wales’ metal fans were packed in to the CIA.
The chants for openers started pretty early and with a build of atmosphere rock monsters Lordi (8) took to the stage for a short 40 minutes of schlock rock. Kicking off with a newbie it wasn’t until Would You Love A Monsterman that the temperature warmed up. The newer members of the band more animated than previous incarnations but most of the eyes stay on the stoic figure of Mr Lordi, stoic due to the expanding wings that appear during Devil Is A Loser and their Eurovision winner Hard Rock Hallelujah, but he keeps the attention with a gravely roar and charisma, even between the songs where he did his damn best to warm the crowd up properly. The new songs were luke-warmly received but the classics like Blood Red Sandman and Who's Your Daddy (which is a little cringe) were sung back loud. I’ve seen Lordi a few times, but each time I do, I’m that kid back in 2005 discovering them for the first time, Monsters are cool, radio friendly hard rock never goes out of fashion and they can whip up a crowd. I’d say that they were the perfect opening act.
Next though is where we have the problem, Babymetal (7) are a divisive band make no mistake, three women in their 20’s choreographed and singing in time with heavy metal, that is rampant with backing tracks, supported by an all masked band. It’s a weird thing for a certain part of the Western audience to understand, a lot of my fellow journos will pan them, the faces were less than impressed but with a level head you have to admire what they do and that it’s not a style of music or performance that is that well known in the UK. Well to a large section of the UK. Babymetal come from the Idol Culture of Japan, bands that are manufactured often featuring mid-teens-20’s girls and boys, chosen by record company executives, producers and more importantly company owners to perform an all singing all dancing show to various styles of music.
These are hit machines, they are very much a commodity rather than an act, a brand over a band if you will. In Japan, its big time and bigger business, for example Idol group AKB48 has 90+ members doing what Babymetal do but to a pop backing, while Hatsune Miku a computer generated performer can sell out stadia both in Japan and here. It’s hard to understand the appeal for a lot of the Western audience but noting the crowd reaction and the amount of people in cosplay, it seems that Babymetal do have a big following in the UK, with younger audience, which is the whole point. They are a gateway band, visually arresting, dusted with J-Pop sugar and backed by a tight, regimented band playing heavy riffs, it brings in another audience and while some may criticize their inclusion on the bill songs like Gimmie Chocolate got the crowd into a frenzy, kids on their dads shoulders and more importantly expose a new generation to bands such as Lordi and the headliners. Is it for me, the 30-something music nerd? No, is it supposed to be? Nope so I can’t slate it.
Babymetal site cleared, curtain dropped and the staging for the headliners revealed to a huge crowd reaction, looking like a military themed Disneyland, it was an impressive piece of staging, the now familiar tank/drum riser stood centre stage as towers, barbed wire and hidden entrances surrounded it. Sabaton (9) have adopted the Iron Maiden approach of big set pieces to accompany the concepts of their songs. It was all going so well as the darkness fell but there was a premature explosion in the middle of the arena, just before the band came on stage. We've all been there, it's embrassing but as the stabbing keys of Ghost Division blared out of the venue P.A, there was a second successful attempt and we were back on course.
This will be their opening song for the rest of their careers and it hits hard every time, from here it was into Bismarck and then The Last Stand, frontman/co-founding member and mastermind Joakim Brodén, the general leading his troops in heavy metal glory as he belted out their history inspired lyrics with his brawny baritone. His between song repartee is funny, informative and confident, telling us that people wanted older songs so they drove into the speedy Into The Fire from Primo Victoria. Hannes Van Dahl's cannon fire drumming and co-founding member Pär Sundström's bass exploding like the Napalm used in Vietnam (the inspiration behind this track).
With a costume change for Carolus Rex, sung in Swedish, and the spiky Winged Hussars, the middle of the set was taken up by four from The War To End All Wars split by their excellent version of Mötohead's 1916. While they had used fire and some costumes before, the theatricality was turned up from here, Stormtroopers having two solders wielding flamethrowers on the turrets, 1916 driven by a solitary marching band snare, as Soldier Of Heaven brought some snowfall. The interplay between guitarists Chris Rörland and Tommy Johansson taking us through peaks and valleys musically while staying inside the power metal remit.
The addition of Father from one of their recent EP's was a welcome one as it's Sabaton showing a heavier side, brilliantly set up as the Father of Mustard Gas floods the stage with smoke supplying gasmasks for the next song Attack Of The Deadmen. (I told you the theatrics increased). Obviously there was a plane for The Red Baron, though I'm sure the next step is to make it fly Maiden style and during the Christmas Truce a lone soldier played a burning piano as this ballad of No Man's Land closed the main set. With eyes wide open and hearts full the chanting for Sabaton grew louder and louder for an encore, young 'uns clambered closer to the stage for their last chance to experience the band as the boidned back on stage with chugging Primo Victoria.
Then of course came the chanting, the "woah woah" refrain for Swedish Pagans pit the two sides of the crowd against each other led by Chris and Tommy, each side getting louder and louder until the end of this long time encore. The final moment of the evening was To Hell And Back and in a flash of cordite and flames it was over. The masses cheered whooped and flooded out of the CIA with goofy grins on their faces, which as a performing artist is all you can wish for.
The massive, colour changing arch that said "The Tour To End All Tours" had perhaps a prophetic double meaning as Sabaton can't hurl this size of production around the world for much longer. They are nearing the time that they will be doing bigger and bigger elements so will need one off shows or festivals to really pull it off, much like Maiden do, touring less frequently or at bigger venues.
If anyone can pull it off Sabaton can as they have done the groundwork, from TJ's in Newport in front of 24 people to the CIA sold out on a Sunday, every step in between has been considered, toyed with, and worked out at length to ensure that it was meteoric rise to where they are now, sitting on top of the tree as one of the most recognisable and accessible metal bands around. These few rescheduled dates solidifying their future headliner status.