Sabaton and Kreator deliver a memorable night at MTELUS

Veterans of metal descended upon Montreal at MTELUS on March 2, as Sabaton, Kreator, and CyHra provided fans with  energetic, entertaining, and ecstatic performances.

Opening up the night was CyHra, which might not seem like a recognisable name, but is full of recognisable people in the metal world. Made up of former In Flames and Amaranthe members, CyHra are no strangers to the big-time, and showed up as such.

While Sabaton closed out the night, they were not the only big name or headliner on the bill that night. Thrash metal European legends Kreator co-headlined the night, unleashing a brutal assault of metal on a crowd just as enthralled. From Essen, Germany, Kreator formed 36 years ago, and paved the way as a genre defining group in Europe, just as Bay Area thrashers did in North America.

Sporting one of the largest mosh pits that the MTELUS has seen in quite some time taking up the entire bottom section of the theatre, Kreator showed fans why they were regarded one of the pioneers.

The stage lights then turned towards the audience, as a metal version of “In The Army Now” relayed through the speakers, and the thundering voices of the crowd sang along in unison. Marching out first was drummer Hannes Van Dahl behind a kit covered in camouflage netting, producing several drum rolls before the rest of Sabaton joined him on stage. Opening with a crowd favourite “Ghost Division,” singer Joakim Broden was last to make an entrance, dashing onto the stage in his signature aviators and vest. The man has relentless energy, engaging every member of the crowd, resembling another great frontman in Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden.

Named after a knight’s foot armor, Sabaton are very different than a lot of other metal bands, as they seek to teach history to the masses through metal, more specifically heroes of the past and great battles. Each song represents one of these two ideas, from the likes of “Shiroyama”, an epic tale of the last stand of the Samurai, to “Hearts Of Iron” about the Germans surrendering to the Allies at the Elbe River in World War II.

A personal anecdote about seeing shows at the famous Metropolis (now MTELUS), bands LOVE to play there. It is regularly one of the venues that gets the biggest praise by metal bands, and this night was no different. Between songs, Broden proclaimed “We have played thousands of shows, in over fifty countries, and I can easily say… A show like this only comes around once in a hundred.” Disbelief after every song, the band couldn’t believe the reception from the crowd, who would start the three-syllable chant Sa-ba-ton! after every pause in the concert.

For details on upcoming Greenland Productions shows visit: www.greenland.ca

More photos from @landonspics