Howdy folks. We’re heading into a holiday weekend dedicated to remembering those members of the military that we’ve lost, either through war or through simple passage of time. For myself, that includes a great uncle who served in the Pacific in WW2, a great grandfather who served in the Spanish-American War, a great-great-great-grandfather who was killed during the Civil War (after enlisting at age 39 with 7 children), and add a couple more greats and I’m descended from a Revolutionary War veteran. Further back than that, records get too murky to be sure.
About a month ago, the Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton released their video for their new cover of Motorhead’s song “1916.” The original song was written by Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister about the Battle of the Somme in WW1.
Sabaton’s video takes it beyond that event though, and turns it into an homage to all soldiers everywhere.
Give it a watch. Oh, and don’t turn off the credits. There’s a lovely cello solo that’s worth hearing and it’s also apparent a lot of work went into this video, so worth giving everyone involved their due time.
For those not familiar with Sabaton, their music mostly deals with history, especially military history, with songs ranging from singing about the famous “300” of Sparta to the ill-fated Convoy 92 during WW2, to the Polish Winged Hussars breaking the Siege of Vienna in 1683, to the Russian “Night Witches” who were a terror to the Nazis on the Eastern Front.
They have some great songs, but for their music videos one I’d particularly recommend along with 1916 is Christmas Truce, even though it’s not quite “in season”. Again, stay with the credits, because the vocals accompanying them is none other than Floor Jansen of Nightwish (she is married to Sabaton’s drummer Hannes Van Dahl).
And with that, I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend. Maybe do some grilling. And don’t forget to spare a bit of time to think about those who’ve served that we’ve lost. If you want, you can give them a shout-out in the comments.