Internationally acclaimed heavy metallers, Sabaton, are celebrating their 25-year milestone in the music industry.

Founded in Falun, Sweden, in 1999, Sabaton's journey has been nothing short of legendary. Their music industry adventures have been fuelled by powerful anthems, 10 studio albums, passionate historical storytelling, and explosive international shows and tours, not to mention out-of-the-box initiatives and projects, all of which wouldn’t have been possible without the unwavering support of their dedicated fan base across the globe.

To mark this momentous milestone, Sabaton have embarked on a year-long celebration. Fans around the world can look forward to a series of celebratory events and an abundance of surprises.

They have checked in with the following message:

"We’re here to tell you it’s officially Carolus Rex month! Our sixth studio album is a popular one among you amazing people – we even know it’s inspired a lot of you to learn Swedish and that means so much to us! Make sure you’re following what we’re up to throughout June, because it’s gonna be a fun month. We’ll be releasing facts about the album and its songs, throwback photos, games and loads more! Oh, and as always, there’ll be a giveaway at the end of the month! Make sure you blast the album loud to celebrate!"

Following is an excerpt from the behind-the-scenes Carolus Rex story:

"History and heavy metal are our lifeblood, and we feel incredibly privileged that we are able to fuse these two powerful forces together. Every time we create something using these elements, it’s a true passion project for us and few people are fortunate enough to do what they love for a living. We are fully aware of how lucky we are as musicians!

Our sixth studio album, Carolus Rex, is another example of us doing what we love the most. But this time, instead of writing about military history belonging to other countries, we decided to pay homage to our roots, our motherland, and our identity as Swedes.

After its release on May 25, 2012, Carolus Rex became one of the most successful Swedish heavy metal albums ever. It remained at the top of Swedish rock charts for an astonishing 326 weeks (and it’s still there!). If that isn’t an achievement of epic proportions, we don’t know what is!

But never in our wildest dreams did we think we’d release something that would go quadruple platinum, and that’s exactly what happened in our home country of Sweden. It’s almost impossible to describe the feeling. We were honoured, proud, humbled, and emotional. When we received the news, we truly went through the motions! 

We had the privilege of working with the legendary Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Pain) on previous Sabaton albums, but never before on such an immersive level. This time, he took on the full spectrum of production duties which was a first for us. Peter happened to live just a stone’s throw away from us at the time, and upon learning of our search for a producer for our sixth studio album, he eagerly stepped forward to take on the project. His commitment was unwavering, as he insisted on overseeing the entire process from start to finish, including the mixing stage.

We were pretty psyched about him taking on the challenge, but we weren’t sure whether we’d get along like a house on fire or kill each other. Luckily, it was the former, not the latter!

A significant portion of Carolus Rex's undeniable success can be credited to Peter and his exceptional talents. His ability to capture the emotional essence of each song through production played a crucial role. Peter took the familiar Sabaton elements and amplified them to new heights, making them bigger and fatter – essentially Carolus Rex is Sabaton on steroids, which was his vision from the very beginning!

Peter demanded a lot from us, especially from Joakim! He wanted big choirs, harmonies and synths. He contributed to the song writing and offered invaluable production tips. He did not accept less than 110% effort and he truly managed to extract a little bit extra out of everyone. We are forever grateful, as the results speak for themselves. Peter is a genius!"

Read more here.