Swedish metallers SABATON have unveiled the official music video for “Hordes Of Khan”, the second single from their forthcoming eleventh studio album, which is due out later this year.
“The story behind our new single ‘Hordes Of Khan’ was a great one to take a deep dive into,” says SABATON singer Joakim Brodén. “The song actually turned out to have way more depth than we expected. Genghis Khan wasn’t just a conqueror; he was a complex figure who left behind a huge legacy. He built the largest contiguous empire in history, stretching far beyond Mongolia, and his influence only grew after his death. Honestly, we couldn’t have picked a more suitable subject for the new direction SABATON is heading in! ‘Hordes Of Khan’ hits hard, and it’s heavy for good reason. We know our fans crave heavy music, and we’re pumped to see how they react to this one. Hopefully, it’s a track they’ll be blasting on repeat!”
SABATON bassist Pär Sundström explains: “Joakim wanted to write a proper heavy metal song, and as we’ve seen from past releases, a lot of our fans appreciate pure fucking heavy metal! That’s what ‘Hordes Of Khan’ is, and when you listen to it and close your eyes, you can imagine Genghis Khan on his horse, galloping to battle. Joakim composed the music and I actually wrote the lyrics for this one. When I started to work on them, I realised the melody was pretty complicated. Honestly, they were some of the most difficult lyrics that I’ve ever written. All in all, I’m very happy with the result, especially as Joakim has said that parts of the lyrics are some of SABATON‘s best to date.”
The music video for ‘Hordes of Khan’ is based in the future, in the year 2045. It was filmed in London at two different locations, the Natural History Museum and at Harrow School, and follows the main character — a young girl — who plays in a heavy metal band and loves SABATON, but she won’t ever have the opportunity to see the band play because in 2039, all wars have miraculously ended. The world is now peaceful, and war is obsolete and therefore, so is SABATON. The girl hears about a museum that’s featuring a SABATON exhibit with all of the band members’ musical instruments. The girl and her band sneak into this museum to check it out. Once inside, they are greeted by a hologram telling the story about the musical instruments of SABATON that contain magic that brings history to life. The kids take no notice, pick up the instruments and begin to play.
Once the music begins, a ferocious Genghis Khan comes to life along with five other legendary soldiers played by the band members. Their mission is to stop Genghis before he escapes the museum to take over the world.
“When reflecting on all of the music videos we’ve ever created,” says Sundström, “our ‘Hordes Of Khan’ music video was the most exciting in a lot of ways, even though ‘Christmas Truce’ is a much more emotional topic and story. I think this one specifically contains much more depth and action, and in combination with the locations and the actors, I’m confident that it will resonate with everyone!”
The children acting in the music video had their work cut out for them. They didn’t just want it to look like they were playing the instruments, they actually wanted the kids to really play the instruments and perform the song correctly. They thought it was going to be super challenging, but in this case they all learned the song by heart and performed it. “We were really proud of them all! What people see in the video is playback, but all of them know their parts and they can play ‘Hordes Of Khan’ for real,” Sundström continues. “We loved seeing that happen! Our ex-drummer Daniel Mullback‘s son played the drums and acted in this music video as well, and he absolutely nailed it. Another amazing drummer in the making!”
This past April, SABATON released a music video for the band’s previous single, “Templars”. The cinematic clip was filmed at two massive historical fortresses in Serbia (Belgrade Fortress within Kalemegdan Park and Smederevo Fortress),both of which provided a striking and authentic backdrop for the epic battle scenes.
In an interview with El Cuartel Del Metal, Brodén spoke about SABATON‘s decision to sign with Better Noise Music after a decade-and-a-half-long run with Nuclear Blast. Regarding what prompted the label switch, Joakim said: “Basically, they’ve gone through some changes, Nuclear Blast, over the years, [having] been bought up by [global digital music company] Believe [in 2018], and while I have no hard feelings towards any one of them, this felt like the next logical step. Because for the past two albums, it seemed like we had hit the roof, to us sometimes, of our reach with Nuclear Blast. With that said, we have good friends still, and we have good friends and lovely people who work there. So this is more of a — what do you call it? — intellectual decision of what’s the best next step for SABATON and not emotional, ‘Oh, we’ve been fucked over by a label.’ No, we haven’t.”
The Nuclear Blast relationship with SABATON dated back to 2010’s World War II-themed “Coat Of Arms” album.
Along with the digital release of “Templars”, SABATON is offering its fans a special one-sided 12-inch vinyl single which is limited to 1,000 copies worldwide and set to be released on June 27.
Since SABATON‘s 2005 debut LP, the band has released ten studio albums (some of which have been certified as gold, platinum, and even quadruple platinum),seen eight of its albums score Top 10 international chart status, and six claim the Top 5.
2022’s “The War to End All Wars” was the last SABATON album to feature guitarist Tommy Johansson. He has since been replaced by a returning Thobbe Englund.
Thobbe originally joined SABATON in April 2012 and amicably parted ways with the band in July 2016 to focus on his personal life and expand his creativity. He rejoined SABATON in February 2024.
Englund recorded two studio albums with SABATON, namely “Heroes” (2014) and “The Last Stand” (2016),and assisted with the songwriting of some very popular songs including “Shiroyama” and “Fields Of Verdun”, among others.
In November 2025, SABATON will embark on a 20-city European run dubbed “The Legendary Tour”. The band teased the trek as “a huge celebration of SABATON‘s music, storytelling and the incredible bond they share with their fans”, featuring “The Legendary Orchestra and other surprises,” resulting in “something unprecedented.”
Last fall, SABATON served as main support to JUDAS PRIEST on the legendary heavy metal band’s North American tour.
In the more than two decades since their launch, SABATON has achieved quadruple-platinum sales, headlined major festivals, sold-out arena concerts across the globe, and earned a legion of loyal fans by being self-managed and carving out a reputation as one of the most innovative bands in rock. SABATON combines standout stage design and production with epic concept albums, linking real-life historical war events with classic kick-ass metal. To date, the band has released ten studio albums, amassed six gold, two platinum, and one four-times-platinum awards, seen eight of its albums score Top 10 international chart status, and six claim the Top 5.
When SABATON hit the 20-year mark, they headlined both stages at Wacken 2019 — the biggest metal festival in the world — simultaneously. Meanwhile, in 2023 as part of a charity initiative, SABATON donated their full-length animated movie to museums around the world in order to increase awareness and visitor numbers, and successfully encouraged people to support the preservation of history in these establishments. During SABATON‘s 25th-anniversary year, the band released the “Tour To End All Tours” concert film, and through independent distribution, it was screened in more than 1,200 cinemas spanning 28 territories.
Photo credit: Joshua Dorfman
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