Classical Composer Reacts to Christmas Truce (Sabaton) | The Daily Doug (Episode 292)

#ChristmasTruce #Sabaton #SabatonReaction
In this episode of #TheDailyDoug, we're listening to Christmas Truce by Sabaton. This is a new band for me, and I was quite impressed with their point of view, expert production, and powerful performance. The song (and video) depict the Christmas Truce that happened at Christmas in 1914 on the Western Front of WWI. I was quite moved by the song and video. I hope you enjoy!
Reference Video: • SABATON - Christmas Tr...
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[@vincentfalcone9218]

Sabaton just casually dropping one of the greatest Christmas songs of all time.

[@mindtraveller100]

The Christmas song to end all the Cristmas songs...

[@joakimvhes302]

@@mindtraveller100 ah, THAT's a real good one there, m8!

[@RossNixon]

Casually? That was a massive production.

[@uroscankar2414]

@@RossNixon maybe he thought like it came from nowhere, like song about battle but become best christmas songs, especially for all of us that we hate happy jingles

[@rokkraljkolesa9317]

and they did it _2 days before halloween_

[@vsichnirucenahoru]

Pär: "We need some powerful female vocal to end credits" Hannes: "I've got one at home"

[@uturkaos]

haha, hang on ill call my wife

[@craigwinter3792]

I'll see what the ol' ball-n-chain is up to.

[@sonia417]

🤣

[@alvianekka80]

"I've got one at home" Female vocal at home: Wait, she's actually great.

[@juanantonioluna7227]

the best youtube comment i have read in my life

[@TeeJay84x]

One of the best and most important pieces Sabaton ever wrote, and Floors ending is the finest cherry on the christmas cake

[@ranekeisenkralle8265]

Yes. And not only for her voice, but also for the layer her mere presence adds to this entire piece: Christmas is about being with the people you love - what finer example could there be than wife and husband?

[@matso3856]

@@ranekeisenkralle8265 I thought it was another layer considering it was her husband that in that picture goes over the top first when everyone was still shooting each other and the truce had not yet come to pass , "madness".

[@ranekeisenkralle8265]

@@matso3856 I'd say it was part of it. But I mostly meant their collaboration for this piece.

[@metalassassin8841]

The only thing that could've improved Floor's part is she was singing along with Tarja....Oh well one can dream

[@Bloodbound89]

i cant decide if no bullets fly or this one hits more

[@AO968]

Doug: *reacts to Sabaton* Sabaton-fans: "We got another one, guys!" Yes, Sabaton always have great cinematography. It comes with being one of the biggest bands out there right now, not to mention having big sponsors that make music videos for them (e.g. Wargaming for their video on Bismarck). The band tends to highlight people and events that have been largely forgotten, or are just not talked about in great detail, aside from more well-known stuff. And they take the time to thoroughly research the topics they want to sing about.

[@ClaymorePunter]

One of us! One of us! One of us!

[@knighthunter1791]

Another brother!

[@brianfhunter]

"the sabaton rabbit hole" is real, its a very strong drug, a single taste and you are addicted... After this react, people will ask you like crazy to react to more sabaton, and trust me, you will like it, everyone does.

[@sentenced03]

I always chuckle when someone does their first sabaton song, and then it's like every month, then every couple weeks 😄

[@CoffeeMatt10]

Very true, I first heard them in January 2020, within half a dozen songs I was hooked, but on one of the videos there was an ad - they would be playing at Wembley very soon (I live just outside London, England)… you never saw someone load up a ticket site faster! Got a ticket to that show and never looked back! (Seeing them again next year!) Now I take joy in watching others discover Sabaton for the first time.

[@SergioImbarlina]

@@CoffeeMatt10 Similar story here - my teenage son pestered me for 2 straight months to give them a listen in the summer of 2019. A few months later I drove our whole family 5 hours one way to catch their final show of the 2019 US tour. Even when they play smaller venues in the US, they find ways to entertain without the over the top pyro they use in the larger European venues. As a band, they are fan friendly to a fault.

[@wheelcha1rman2]

I fell down it years ago. They've been my favourite band since.

[@jakecoyne3919]

Couldn't be me having all of their songs in my playlist within 2 weeks of finding them. They make crazy good music with very important historical messages that we will hopefully never need to repeat

[@TheMspacmann]

Hannes the drummer is married to Floor. Almost all of Sabaton's music is history/war related. Ghost Division live in 2012 is another great one from them

[@Templarofsteel88]

the only 2 songs that I can think about that is not war-related are metal Crüe and metal machine which are tribute to other bands.

[@1982jeepcj8]

@@Templarofsteel88 There are some FANTASTIC covers done by Sabaton, a lot of the first album is not military history related, hell they have a song on the Nazgul from Lord of the Rings kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJ3Wg6aIpJaDf5Y "Shadows" from the first album

[@ZETH_27]

@@Templarofsteel88 Sabaton's cover of In The Army Now should also be noted.

[@grassulus158]

I also like En Livstid I Krig as well as 40:1 Woodstock.

[@KAT-hs3xh]

*cough cough* Did you say, good songs by Sabaton? STALINGRAD PRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO VICTORIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! 40:1 ATTACK OF THE DEAD MEN SPARTA NO BULLETS FLY BISMARCK PANZERKAMPF WEHRMACHT OH AND GUESS WHAT? SWEDISH PAGANS: Joakim: *(confused screaming)*

[@firesturmgaming]

Fun fact the opening is played in reverse octave cos it was to symbolize the hopelessness of war. It's played in it's proper configuration later on to symbolize the moment of peace experienced during the Christmas Truce.

[@Donna-C]

Credit to Sabaton for telling this story with their music & video. Floor’s vocal adds so much to this song. LEST WE FORGET.

[@alexiusangelfire]

Floor Jansen is married to the drummer. I can really recommend listening to their songs. Been a fan since the early 2000's and they are rather unique in their sound and I love their history lessons with each song they make :)

[@vogel2280]

I don't think Doug realised the "of course"-ness of his "of course"

[@BlackEpyon]

Nightwish is well worth listening to as well.

[@DornishVintage]

I can agree, in this age. Floor is every equal to Tarja when it comes to warmth and clarity in her voice. It was a long path between.

[@kajlax1554]

I concur ​@@BlackEpyon

[@jerryhammarberg7480]

I can really recommend their song "en livstid I krig", a lifetime of war. Performed live in Göteborg (Sweden) together with the audience. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXPWZHpnhdusnK8 The lyrics is about one of the bloodiest wars the Swedish army ever participated in. It is an emotional song about those men who were forced by orders from our king Gustav II Adolf to leave their families and friends in Scandinavia to fight a war in central Europe. A war that lasted for almost 30 years and the song really tries to capture the emotions and hardships these men endured during these times.

[@henrikcollin4727]

It haves subtitles in English, so i would recommend to enable them if you going to react to this.

[@h-0058]

I would like to add, if you look at any of their songs from the Carolus Rex album, all of them have a swedish version and some have an english one as well. I personally find the swedish versions better sounding than their english counterparts in most of the songs, so I definitely encourage you to check them out. Piscator does lyric videos and for the swedish ones there is also an english translation, so that can also help

[@kennethsven]

That was an awesome concert, and that song is the one I remember the most!

[@Hellz18]

Highly recommend the English subtitles!

[@aa4a-a4]

Honestly this is one of my favorite songs of all time, surely one of the most powerful

[@vernonbrazle1070]

The saddest part of this story is that the high command of both sides made sure that this never happened again. On the upside units on both side had to be moved elsewhere on the lines as they would no longer fight each other.

[@harroldoverton]

#TheDailyDoug - as a retired military officer and combat veteran of Afghanistan & Iraq, I must say that this song is superb and very personal and relevant to me. Look at they symbolism - these guys would never be trying to kill one another if their governments had not told them to do so. But this was also was when war was between gentlemen. Also why it can easily be said that war is made by governments and suffered by men. It also shows that this is why war is something to be avoided. Best Regards, Major Harold Overton, US Air Force (retired)

[@kjohnson9306]

I'm not musically inclined, but I like how you broke it down and explained the composition without talking down to us uneducated heathens. 😎

[@saintcynicism2654]

Same. I'm sure most of it went in one ear and out the other, but it was still nice to hear a more technical breakdown about how the music works.

[@matsv201]

Me "it sounds good" Doug; "there is a reason for that" Me "didnt think about that"

[@daedalron]

7:13 "How brave was this guy?" It's not ONE guy. There were multiple people who were first to leave the trenches, all along the front. And yes, it certainly must have taken A LOT of courage for those men to do that. Sadly, even though the Christmas Truce is famous now, there were parts of the front where no truce was made, and those brave men who tried to leave the trenches were quickly shot down...

[@thalastianjorus]

Joakim's voice is on another plane when it comes to sheer portrayal of angst and existential dread. Able to flow smoothly from hopeless foreboding to icy terror to a maddening rage. Without his voice there wouldn't be a Sabaton... just a band that performed historical music. His voice puts you into the shoes of the men that he honors.

[@red_five1542]

It makes sense that Floor Jansen would do the vocals on the end credits. She is married to the drummer of Sabaton.

[@linkblade0]

Unironically, I feel that Christmas Truce is the best Christmas song I've ever heard. It's not a song about commercialism, there's no Santa or his reindeer, no religion. Just people. People, who are on opposite sides of the battle field in the largest war ever fought in history up to that point putting down their weapons and coming together. I truly can think of no better example of the 'magic' of Christmas than that.

[@CyberMetalOverlord]

Amen brother, True Christmas spirit.

[@blackstone777]

As a veteran, Sabaton IMO are true warrior poets. Their music at times brings me to tears and brings peace to my soul. They put into music what it means to be "the few". Duty, honor, sacrifice.

[@starsword-c2534]

The tagline for their last album read, "The Great War: What's so fucking great about it?" I was dearly hoping you'd discover Sabaton eventually. They write about war, but they do it very respectfully and they never lose sight of the fact that it is horrible and should not happen.

[@ranekeisenkralle8265]

I didn't know about that tagline, but it does indeed sound like something Joakim would say on the matter.

[@SuperMoofie]

Because the Great War was meant to be the last war.

[@draochvar9646]

Well yea. There's also the line in the song 'Great War' "where is this greatness I've been told".

[@roguenoob]

"it's the lie that we've been sold" is also a great line in the song

[@SuperMoofie]

@@draochvar9646 It's not a literal meaning of the word great as in a great thing, it was at the time then thought to be 'the' war to end them all, the last war. They couldn't have known the future then, just as we do not know it for sure now. It was a great war because it involved so many, not because there was sometrhing great about it.

[@jeffbudd7678]

Sabaton are a big band these days. They really exploded on the scene internationally in the last several years, though I've been a fan since their album Primo Victoria dropped 20 years ago. Like pretty much everyone else has said they sing a put real world military history/battles/events/individuals. Vocalist Jaokim Broden composes the majority of the music with bassist Par Sundstrom and they are the only two remaining originL members. Chris Rorland came to the band as a former band mate of Par's in Nocturnal Rites and Tommy (guitars) is a multi-instrument artist who has his own band Majestica. Hannes Van Dahl came from Gothenburg based dark progressive metal band Evergrey (well worth checking out!). The band has played to over 600,000 fans on a WW2 battlefield outside of Warsaw, Poland, has put out 8 studio LPS, 12eps, 4 live albums, 1 History Edition of The Great War with opening narrations for each song and 1 Soundtrack Edition of The Great War which is an all orchestral score to their album of the same name.

[@Sverfaust]

Bismarck, Primo Victoria, Panzer Battalion, Ghost Division, The Red Baron, No Bullets Fly, countless others. Check out more from them please

[@Templarofsteel88]

En livstid i krig live from Gothenburg!

[@joakimvhes302]

I love that you've included Panzer Battalion in there, it's one of my favourites and I think it doesn't get enough attention all those years later.

[@Daeymien]

Carolus Rex would be a good one for the to-do list as well.

[@gsresener]

No Bullets Fly has an amazing video and the story is really powerful

[@feral_orc]

Can I add Night Witches to this list?

[@Trapphus22]

In case anyone watches this now: This is based on a true story. December 1914, the start of the Great War, over a million lives already lost. On the front lines an unauthorized truce was made between the sides for 1 night only. All sides came together to celebrate christmas. And many had to be sent to different locations after when they would refuse to kill the enemy after having gotten to know them.

[@deanworsley2244]

Thank you for the review, I'm a huge Sabaton fan as I am a bit of a history nerd and a veteran. The fact that this truce happened over 100 years ago makes my hair stand up. I am an Australian veteran and I can assure you, like all veterans, we would dearly love "my war" to be the one to end wars yet here we are, being sent by old men who dislike their opposite number's politics, ideology or basically driven by greed, to send young men who don't know each other, or even necessarily dislike each other in the case of this video, to go to foreign lands to kill each other! Why are we still doing this to each other? Nothing is gained, there are no winners, only broken minds and bodies and a lifetime of dealing with the horrors we've inflicted on innocent populations who have done nothing more than live in a land that someone else decides to rape. It makes me incredibly sad knowing that my mates and I have done nothing to change this, despite our years of sacrifice :(

[@AncientExplorationCanada]

Visiting this again for Remembrance Day and soon the holiday season... Lest We Forget 🖤

[@lemjustlem]

When I first heard this song on the day of release, I was in a coffee shop; I was openly weeping by the end. It's one of the best pieces of music that Sabaton has ever composed, and the "only" Christmas song that I'll voluntarily listen to from the modern era. And as you mentioned, I cannot even FATHOM the courage one would need to have to be the first to step out of the trenches, holding your hat by way of parley...

[@jimmyggs91]

Oh this one was a cool bonus, and a very fresh one! Sabaton is a nice Swedish power metal band that mostly have on their lyrical repertoire historical events, definitely worth exploring more later on. Oh and their drummer, Hannes, is married with Floor Jansen. You can hear her singing in the very end.

[@MacOriginalGamer]

The pure musical genius of Sabaton can't be overstated. Their music is some of the best I've ever heard in my life.

[@mikekemble958]

Sabaton - icing on the cake. I love them and have seen them in concert here in the UK. Thank you Doug, glad you loved it. Now - watch Lady of the Dark and Bismarck.

[@HankHill11]

me when i hear the words "sabaton" and "i'v not heard of them before" i know its gonna be a great video, another great song by sabaton i think you'd enjoy, Ballad of the Bull.

[@kristofbe1]

I couldn't agree more with your final words, Doug. Although the Christmas truce only happened in 1914, there are stories of compassion between enemy soldiers throughout WW1. There are equally as many stories about cruelty and brutality as well, but that only goes to show that even in the most unimaginably horrible of situations, moments humanity can come through.

[@SatufromFinland-jf3vz]

I recommend you to watch and listen to Sabaton's version of Motörhead's 1916. It's very strong, powerful and impressive. You can't describe it, it goes straight to your soul.

[@careylymanjones]

By Christmas of 1914, the professional soldiers were mostly dead or crippled. The armies that met each other in no man's land on Christmas Day were almost entirely conscripts. The trenches themselves were horrific, sometimes knee-deep in mud. Belgium is one of the Low Countries, and the water table was so high that keeping trenches well-drained was impossible. High commands on both sides insisted that the trench warfare was only temporary, and that their troops would breakout and end the stalemate, so they didn't put a lot of effort into making the trenches livable.

[@josharneson7724]

I am jacked. Been asking for a sabaton reaction since day 1 so happy. Doug there are so many songs that would trip your trigger. No Bullets Fly really pulled Tears from my eyes watch the official vid.

[@siggedrake]

Do the FULL animated story if you plan to this song. Tears is almost a promise.

[@nightwishlover8913]

Congratulations on actually watching to the end and discovering that the soprano was Floor - not all reactors have done! Most of Sabaton's songs are in a similar vein - as suggested previously try Ghost Division or 40 to 1 or Uprising all from the 2012 Polish Woodstock concert - an audience of somewhere around 500,000 people singing along. Frightening! Great reaction! For another version of Carol of the bells, you might enjoy Lindsey Stirling's violin treatment: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3zOq5WYgb6Dq6s

[@RudyBleeker]

Most reactors worth their salt have recognized her though. The Charismatic Voice, Tank the Tech and Julia Nilon all caught on pretty quickly, I believe Tank even realized it immediately, way before it showed in the credits.

[@careylymanjones]

@@RudyBleeker I loved Julia's double-take when the end credits rolled. "I've heard that voice..."

[@32a34a]

I cannot wait for the new album. One of the singles is Lady Of The Dark. It is about Milunka Savic. She is a Serbian heroine and the most decorated female combatant of all time. She fought in the Balkan Wars and then World War 1 and was quite proficient at combat.

[@74Husky]

Our dad was in the WW2 Battle of the Bulge and over Christmas he said there was a temporary truce. Dad said it was a very uncanny and unsettling silence, interupted by distant bouts of singing in English and German. Dad was a Medic in Patton's US 3rd Army and losses from this battle were huge! The stupidity of war, especially at this point in time!

[@Hilariumosis]

Hannes Van Dahl (drummer) is Floor Jansen's husband. I want a proper collaboration with Sabaton and Nightwish so bad. A symphonic power metal track, what a mix that could be as both bands already have that epic and grandness aspect to their music already.

[@Daeymien]

Been wishing that for ages myself as well. Though, if it does come to pass at some point I'd like to see Marko back for it even just as a one-off.

[@Cherokeelion]

@@Daeymien yes Marko included

[@truman0725]

I just want a nightwish sabaton tour with some collab along the wat, would be so sick

[@b0sanac]

@@truman0725 I've actually been to one of these. It was back in 2013 but it was hands down the best show I've ever seen. Sabaton started and NW finished it.

[@isaiahwelch8066]

@@b0sanac : That wouldn't be a show in Australia, would it? In Nightwish's documentary, they show a show schedule from the Australian tour in 2013, and you are correct -- Sabaton was the opener, and Nightwish closed that show.

[@filipbozic4303]

Tommy, the guitarist, has another band Majestica and they released a whole christmas theme metal album called A Christmas Carol, it's a concept album telling the christmas carol story Check it out in your spare time

[@gnomche]

You should know... given your surname.... 🤣🤣🤣

[@Werewolf914]

How have I never heard of this?!?! I need to check it out

[@markbro4427]

@@Werewolf914 A Christmas Carol and Above The Sky are great albums... Tommy is a great vocalist and multi instrumentalist.... Majestica were previously called ReinXeed, they released around 8 albums... Tommy also does some great Abba covers 🙂 kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmiVpnukhL5qeZo

[@rizzcs6018]

@@markbro4427 Bro, clicked on the link and i really wasn't expecting that :O

[@lizzylambardo8103]

I love that you're a classical composer reacting to heavy metal. I'm a classically trained oboist, going to school for my BA in music. My fiancée introduced me to Sabaton and was certain I wouldn't like it because it's metal and I'm classically trained. How wrong he was! Being classically trained has helped me better appreciate other genres of music. We went to a Sabaton concert in October, and it was so awesome! I told him that if I had been taught history alongside or through Sabaton songs, I probably would've remembered history way better 🤣

[@ditmavic]

Wow, just wow. Brilliant song, thanks Doug and your followers for introducing me to yet another band. First Nightwish and now Sabaton!

[@suntiger745]

Nice catch that that the Carol of the Bells part was turned around to go up at first, then switching to go back down and sound more mournful near the end. I would never have noticed that unless you had pointed it out. Very nice touch to tie the music to the story the lyrics tell, one feeding into the other. I also like the dissonance in the instrumental middle section as Hannes/the german soldier remembers some of the horrors he's seen even as both side are talking peacefully around him. A moment of peace in a war that never ends indeed.

[@careylymanjones]

And the gunfire in the mix while the soldiers are still celebrating foreshadows the resumption of combat.

[@meriotheart]

@@careylymanjones And, if I remember correctly, it hints at the fact that there wasn't a truce everywhere, so you could still hear the war around you

[@The_krazy_kriegsman]

so i understand that sabaton did the restart of thez fighting right after christmas is over for cinematic/song purposes but IRL the soldiers that participated in the truce on both side had to be removed because they refused to fight and so for several weeks after christmas there was still no fighting until new troops were rolled in

[@davidlivingston7230]

Sabaton never disappoints. Maybe check out To Hell and Back, Primo Victoria, Carolus Rex, or just about any other of their songs

[@metalmark1214]

Thank you for doing this one Doug. I thought you'd like this recommendation. I see that you noticed Floor Jansen in the credits at the end, she's doing the vocal outro. She is married to Hannes Van Dahl, the drummer in Sabaton

[@MythicFool]

There are a couple versions of the Great War album; the album itself, the History version, and the 'Soundtrack to the Great War' version where the songs are arranged and played by a full orchestra and choir, with Floor singing 'The Future of Warfare'.

[@IntrepidIanRinon]

In speaking of The Future of Warfare, the chorus part of it was sampled near the end of the song....

[@pekkakarppinen1608]

This is a great anthem of humanity in the hardest of situations. And then there's Floor 💗🌷. Merry Christmas from Finland, Doug! 🎅⛄🎄👍

[@PrinsPrygel]

Merry Christmas from Finland, Doug! 🎅⛄🎄👍 Hi little brother, Merry Christmas from Sweden... Lisenssi hurri signing in... :P

[@pekkakarppinen1608]

@@PrinsPrygel God Jul, lisenssihurri! 😆❄👍

[@PrinsPrygel]

@@pekkakarppinen1608 Hyvää Joulua

[@williamsnyder6514]

I knew this one didn't get blocked Sabaton loves having their music shared

[@toonwiesas8742]

Hi Doug. Your facial expression was hilarious when you heard Floor Jansen. Well noticed. Have a merry Christmas.

[@papasang6360]

New subscriber here. I have been a regular "The Charismatic Voice" watcher for the vocal breakdown. The Daily Doug is now my go to for the music breakdown. Well done Doug. Nice critique. Thank you.

[@raebee4321]

If you can't imagine yourself firing on an enemy, you should react to Sabaton's No Bullets Fky next (the yarn hub animated version is best). Really great story about a German solider sparing/saving the lives of an enemy B17F crew.

[@sentenced03]

great great song/story it always chokes me up a bit, a lot of sabaton does really.

[@CoffeeMatt10]

The German and US pilots involved sought each other out years later and became friends. If that’s not amazing enough, the German pilot’s grandson is a Sabaton fan!!! His mother (the pilot’s daughter) contacted the band and he got to meet them.

[@raebee4321]

@@CoffeeMatt10 I wasn't planning to give away the ending in case he does react to it. But yeah, great song and wonderful story.

[@russelltrahan5865]

MORE SABATON!!! Those guys are great! Unique sound.

[@vegahuset1]

Just love the content of your reaction! I have “lived” with Sabaton for many years and I just love when others like them too! Underrated for years, but seems they start to get the worldwide attention they deserve ❤

[@justinhill6666]

I just discovered this band a year ago, and have a been a fan ever since, love their salute to history and bring it to life with their music

[@CoffeeMatt10]

I discovered them January 2020 (after months of being told to check them out by a workmate)… the very same day I booked a ticket to see them at a show 3 weeks later, and I was blown away by that show! They rival Rammstein on the pyrotechnics front, and are just so much fun when they interact with the crowd. They are now cemented in my top 5 all time bands.

[@ianthompson5746]

Certainly a time for reflection, you might be very interested to hear that the guy playing the guitar (Tommy Johansson), has produced (with his own band Majestica) one of the best Christmas songs I have ever heard, titled "The joy of Christmas", would love you to react to that piece..

[@jregns]

The entire album is about A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens), Majestica version. It's brilliant!

[@Thomas.Wright]

"A band where everyone sings." Heck, they even got the drummer's wife to sing the end credits.

[@krymzon7493]

Sabaton covers history and they treat every song with the great respect the subject matter deserves. For more great songs where you'll want to watch the whole video I'd recommend No Bullets Fly, Bismark, Carolus Rex, Winged Hussars, and Night Witches. Have a great Christmas Doug!

[@StronkiTube]

I absolutely cannot wait to see you react to more of Sabaton's songs! I cannot possibly "only" recommend a single song. They have way too many amazingly powerful songs. But I guess if I'd have to name one, it would be Primo Victoria, which is the first song I ever heard of Sabaton, and made me fall in love with the band at an instant.

[@AnotherAussie101]

The sabaton rabbit hole is a real thing… they have a load of fantastic songs

[@lenaengell8528]

Great reaction on this Swedish band. Thank you!

[@JargonThD]

Relatively late to the metal scene, I would sometimes put on a Spotify channel at work and Sabaton would come up and impress me musically and thematically. They tend to feature (I don't know the band well, so they may EXCLUSIVELY feature) songs of military and war history. My favorite song before this one was Ghost Division. Later I "re-discovered" Nightwish with Floor as vocalist, then learned that Hannes is her husband so when I saw this I knew him immediately. Now I'll embark on a Sabaton rabbit-hole via KZbin and learn this band's members and main body of work. Thanks for your reaction. Your response ratifies the YEARS Sabaton took to make this as they struggled to write it to perfection and not just barf it out as a half-baked rendition of what they wanted to impart.

[@TimoArula]

Powerful Song by a Great band , and a little of Floor Jansen's magic .... PERFECTION 🤘😎🤘. New sub here . NWSU .

[@paulob2087]

Thanks Doug - glad you succumbed to all our pestering to react to this!!! As others have suggested, there are tons of other great Sabaton tracks/videos worth putting on your list. First personal recommendation would be to check out their music vids where they have teamed up with animators which adds another element/story to their songs - start with No Bullets Fly (another example of the awesome power of humanity during war)!!! Cheers

[@g.gordon8117]

Im sure its was said below..Floor is married to the drummer Hannes of Sabaton...the is a monument in Belgium for this event.

[@deptusmechanikus7362]

Every time I listen to this song, I reach for a tissue 😭🤧

[@DemonKingVI]

Welcome to Sabaton, my friend. Theur songs hit hard in MANY ways. I think you'd like their song "Father" the melody and vocals have this sort of conflicting tone of hope and fear that really highlights the subject matter. I think you could really appreciate it.

[@najrenchelf2751]

I swear, Christmas Truce is becoming the Ghost Love Score of Sabaton... :D

[@udp1073]

Sir, you use y’all as a proper southern.. i am am italian immigrant to Texas, if, when you have time, give a try to “to hell and back” that Sabaton tributed to Audie Murphy. Amazing reaction video, well done, thanks.

[@BigzampanoXXL]

Great that you not stopped…

[@robertdysonn]

Every one of those songs is like a history lesson. Since their first album was finished they went to focusing on military history and they do an excellent job in every song they write. I’m new to them, just got an earful of them with uprising last summer about the Polish Jews uprising against the Nazis. Great band, definitely check out more of them. With their theme of military history they will never run out of writing material.

[@jeffjag2691]

History lesson! Every government told their people the war would be over by Christmas when it started in 1914. The Christmas truce happened anarchisticly across the lines on the first Christmas (1914) of a 4 year war.

[@mushinbujin]

Please keep going with the Sabaton! If you ever do their live videos, you'll find that Joakim gets really creative with his vocals sometimes and just sings a tune without any lyrics as a form of embellishment. It's awesome since he has such a powerful voice to do it with.

[@LDBHX]

When you realise that's Floor ❣doing outro ... Great reaction to the great piece of music. Thank you Doug Have a Merry Christmas 🎄 Greetings from Poland

[@pdutchie4924]

Such a strong and emotional song. Chills when the piano starts and when Floor sings the outro.

[@mariuszjanik8076]

After the christmas truce, the commands of both sides decided to conduct continuous artillery fire to prevent fraternization with the enemy in later years. I respect these people for remaining human and for being able to show their commanders the middle finger. P.S. The Germans won the football match 3-2, after the ball hit the barbed wire. (Sorry about the language issues. Google Translate)

[@davidhannan2911]

@The Daily Doug, I actually just subsctibed based off of this reaction video. I enjoyed your reaction and thoughts on this video. Sabaton is a great band and I have enjoyed a lot of their videos. Side note: I am a Veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, I Served in the National Guard and deployed three times. Twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. I never wanted to go to war myself but I volunteered to serve in the Army National Guard so I could go to college. I ended up making a career out of it and retired from the Guard after 24 years. Sabotans music and lyrics and the stories they tell all hit me in a way that bring back both the good and bad memories of deploying. WWI, WWII, and The Korean war were all fought differently. Vietnam and forward is where military started with rotations in and out of wars. Hopefully with what is going on in Eastern Europe does not expand into anther world war. I pray that it does not happen everyday. Sorry I got super wordy their. I enjoyed your reaction to this video and I look forward to seeing more from you. Peace and Happiness to all.

[@darrenjones5885]

Sabaton’s other channel, Sabaton History, is a great educational resource exploring the events behind the songs. What kind of band produces a history channel? 😁

[@hotrdchvy350]

Only the greatest band ever lol

[@careylymanjones]

Only one that writes songs about historical events. What would be the point of "Metallica History" or "Black Sabbath History"?

[@lucretialee3691]

@@careylymanjones OMG! Imagine Ozzy trying to explain Military History, I'd be glued to the laptop.

[@ivanmabilin1021]

Sabaton 🤣🤣🤣

[@sourisvoleur4854]

@@careylymanjones Iron Maiden did a song about Paschendaele

[@angelomoshopoulos4369]

What an incredible song and band. Doug, check out Afraid To Shoot Strangers by Maiden about the first Gulf war. Thanks for including Sabaton.

[@mitchapalooza7949]

As someone who knows nothing about music but loves Sabaton, you showed me a lot of very interesting things is this video. Thankyou.

[@tipips]

its great to hear someone analize a great song that actually knows what they are talking about i learned a lot from this and didnt realize a lot of tricks used in this song on my own, thank you, great video and impressive knowledge from you there.

[@Templarofsteel88]

Doug, I would love to see you react to Sabaton - En livstid i krig (a lifetime of war) live from Gothenburg. In that video, you will really se how sabaton is live and the interaction you get from the audience.

[@iammelon7803]

The best song Sabaton ever made, and they have made some great songs. Every time I listen to it, I get chills

[@VinticoreGaming]

Great reaction, I love hearing knowledgeable people talk about their craft!

[@m00nm00n]

First of all, happy holidays. Great reaction, and great choice to NOT skip the credits. For future Sabaton-reactions, remember this; Never, ever shut down the video until it is truly over. Some, if not most of their videos have important bits after the actual song is over. Again, happy holiday. Stay safe, and stay awesome.

[@lisathewhitewolf]

I thought Sabaton was too harsh for me, at first. Then I heard this song and decided to dive deeper. I think they said the were working on it for...four years? It just never gelled until now, and they felt that HAD to do it justice. No Bullets Fly kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqTPgGBpfMyYpLs (watch this video - the intro by Yarn Hub tells the whole story of the song), and The Attack Of The Dead Men kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3KplaqlrrOHaJY are pretty cool, as is Night Witches kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4qzoGuwedCpr5Y (Night Witches has an intro too.) They're a bit less impressive production-wise, but still great songs. Yarn Hub takes talented young artists and puts them to work on historical pieces like No Bullets Fly and Night Witches. Good stuff, though the look of the animation is understandably a bit amateur. Attack Of The Dead Men has a crazy story - watch the lyric video I linked. It tells the story.

[@Andrath]

Every Sabaton song is basically a history lesson set to metal.

[@miroslavfikacek7878]

It is a great pleasure to see the Czech cooperation on this one video. I am very proud of this. 🙏✌️ thank you, Mr. Helvering, for choosing this one!

[@flashpeter625]

Oh yes, if they get hundred thousand people in the audience, this chorus is going to be chanted by a hundred thousand people, and it will be epic. Sabaton has some of the best crowd chants, the songs are explicitly written for crowd participation, and the band is even getting better at it over time.

[@Memes-XD]

it's always so awesome hearing someone decrypt a song in detail and when they are specialist/professional it's so awesome, this was beautiful

[@ToddPetersen]

Liking this before even watching. I saw Sabaton for the first time this year and became a fan. I love how you're listening to lots of European bands-my fave.

[@Flokarl1]

WOW!!!!! What a powerful song , message.....and the movie qulity in addition to that!!!

[@gparky3]

Just awesome! Thanks for covering that one.

[@Tbone-bv3wg]

Thank you!! I discovered Sabaton earlier this year while watching history documentaries and they have inspired me like no other band has--the stories they tell are all true. They have a great ability to match the lyrics and the music and it is powerful.

[@TheOars123]

Floor jansen is married with the drummer of the sabaton band, nice collaboration !!!!!

[@jamesbannister8470]

Love that you’ve finally listened to (and enjoyed) sabaton! Please check out Night Witches, No Bullets Fly, and Final Solution

[@davidleggitt4687]

The first guy to go out first is the drummer and is married to Floor J in nightwish

[@belisariusx]

Now I need you to react to 1916. Same Saboton and same war.

[@dalestevens3332]

Glad you held off to the end to note that Floor was singing the outro with the credits.

[@peternilsson801]

What a wonderful reaction! We're not used to see you stunned and that is really special!

[@emjem99]

Wow indeed! Had me in tears, such a beautiful sound.

[@irena4545]

Loved the emotions playing on your face as you were listening and moving to the rhythm! And you are absolutely right that this is an amazing piece of art, not just music but cinematography, as well. This is your first video that I have watched, and I am glad to have made an acquaintance!