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:

"To celebrate Metalizer month, we’ve launched our brand-new Hellrider racing game. All you need to do is collect as many points by catching the golden Sabaton logos and avoiding the obstacles at all costs. It’s fiery, it’s fun, but most importantly, it’s metal. The bonus? Once you’ve played, you can choose to enter our giveaway for a chance to win a signed Metalizer CD or vinyl. Why not, right?! Play it here!"

Following is an excerpt from the behind-the-scenes Metalizer story, issued this past weekend:

"When we began our heavy metal journey, Metalizer was originally intended to be our very first studio album back in 2002. The record was crafted way before we made our thematic shift towards historical narratives. It featured a collection of songs that delved into more traditional metal themes with titles such as "Hellrider", "Thundergods" and "Hail To The King" setting the tone. Many of the album’s tracks were re-recorded and plucked from Fist For Fight, our self-released debut. However, just as we were ready to unleash our vision upon the world, our collaboration with an Italian label took an unexpected turn, leaving us in limbo for years until a resolution was reached years after in 2007. But we’ll get into more detail about that later…

Listening to Metalizer takes us on a nostalgic journey back to our humble beginnings. We were just a bunch of young metalheads who were on a mission to craft our first album. We were actually living out our dream, and boy, what a feeling that was! The only drawback of this album experience was the lengthy wait of five years before its release, during which we had solidified our musical identity and carved out our niche in the industry.

Imagine this scenario: you record an album in 2002, but it doesn’t see the light of day until 2007. It’s an unusual situation, and, of course, so much can happen and change in five years. As musicians, this was a peculiar situation to find ourselves in. Following the release of Attero Dominatus, this album resurfaced, featuring songs we had barely heard in half a decade. The music, the production, even the lyrical themes felt disconnected from where Sabaton was at the time. Yet, diving back into this old gem proved to be an immensely gratifying experience – especially when performing the songs live on tour."

Read more here.