''The Last Stand'' is the eighth studio album by Swedish

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...

band

Sabaton A sabaton or solleret is part of a knight's body armour, body armor that covers the foot. History Sabatons from the 14th and 15th centuries typically end in a tapered point well past the actual toes of the wearer's foot, following poulaines, f ...

. It was produced by

Peter Tägtgren Alf Peter Tägtgren (born 3 June 1970) is a Swedish musician and record producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band Pain in which he is the only m ...

in the Abyss Studios in Sweden and released on 19 August 2016. Like Sabaton's previous album

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

, ''The Last Stand'' is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

and takes inspiration from "

last stand A last stand, or final stand, is a military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming and virtually insurmountable odds. Troops may make a last stand due to a sense of duty; because they are d ...

" military battles. On 10 June 2016 the first single "The Lost Battalion" was released, followed by "Blood of Bannockburn" on 15 July and "Shiroyama" on 12 August. A lyric video for the title track was released on 25 January 2018. It would be their last album to feature guitarist Thobbe Englund following his departure in July 2016. He would then return to the band in February 2024, following the departure of guitarist Tommy Johansson. In 2021, Sabaton released a special History Channel Edition of the album to subscribers to the Sabaton History

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a monetization platform operated by Patreon, Inc., that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service and sell digital products. It helps artists and other creators earn a recurring income by provid ...

, featuring historical prefaces to each song by channel host

Indy Neidell Indiana Richard Alexander Neidell (born 28 September 1967) is an American-Swedish documentarian, historian, actor, voice actor, musician and YouTube personality, best known for presenting the video series, ''The Great War'' on '' The Great War Ch ...

. The version had originally been planned for April 2020, but it and the History Channel Edition of ''Heroes'' suffered production delays due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and label

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiary, subsidiaries located in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on ...

's purchase by

Believe Digital Believe SAS (also known as Believe Music; previously known as Believe Digital) is a global digital music company headquartered in France. Believe has several brands including TuneCore, Nuclear Blast, Naïve, Groove Attack, Play Two and AllPoints ...

. The albums finally shipped to subscribers on 25 June 2021.

Track listing

Personnel

* Joakim Brodén:

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

s * Pär Sundström:

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Chris Rörland:

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

s, backing vocals * Thobbe Englund: guitars, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "All Guns Blazing" *

Hannes Van Dahl Hannes Van Dahl (born Karl-Hannes Dahl, 18 January 1990) is a Swedish musician, best known as the drummer of the power metal band Sabaton (band), Sabaton. Biography Dahl changed his name to "Hannes Van Dahl" as an adult. His interest in rock ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, backing vocals Additional credits: * Spoken words on "Diary of an Unknown Soldier" by

Jon Schaffer Jon Ryan Schaffer ( ; born March 15, 1968) is an American heavy metal musician. He is the rhythm guitarist, bandleader and principal songwriter of the Indiana-based heavy metal band Iced Earth, which he formed in 1985 under the name Purgatory. ...

* Bagpipes on "Blood of Bannockburn" by Jonas Kjellgren * Hammond Organ on "Blood of Bannockburn" by Tomas Sunmo Choir credits: *Christer Gärds, Anders Sandström, Bosse Gärds, Pontus Lekaregärd and Peter Hindén from Eternal (of Sweden), *Thomas Nyström & Marie Mullback, Äsa Österlund, Hannele Junkala, Sofia Lundberg, Marie-Louise Strömqvist and

Floor Jansen Floor Jansen (; born 21 February 1981) is a Dutch singer and songwriter. She is the third and current lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. Jansen first became known as the lead vocalist of symphonic metal band After Forever f ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Stand 2016 albums 2010s concept albums Sabaton (band) albums Nuclear Blast albums Albums produced by Peter Tägtgren