Sabaton Surprise-Release the First in a New Trilogy of EPs

Sabaton aren't done making songs about World War I — not by a long shot. On Friday (Sept. 30), the Swedish metal band released the EP Weapons of the Modern Age, the first in a trilogy of new Sabaton EPs furthering their WWI imagery, as a total surprise.

Weapons of the Modern Age continues the war-focused metal from Sabaton's last two albums, The War to End All Wars and The Great War. The EP trilogy, called Echoes of the Great War, will eventually include two further entries, Heroes of the Great War and Stories From the Western Front. The first single from Weapons of the Modern Age is the track "Father." A Sabaton movie called The War to End All Wars is expected next year. Sabaton tour North America through October.

Listen to "Father" near the bottom of this post, underneath the cover art and track list for Weapons of the Modern Age. Get Sabaton concert tickets here.

"This trilogy complements our two studio albums, The Great War and The War To End All Wars," Sabaton bassist Par Sundstrom says. "We were definitely not ready to close our World War I chapter. We wanted to continue the journey and let it echo a little longer in the hearts and minds of our fans."

Lead singer Joakim Broden calls "Father" a "dark track about a very controversial person. Fritz Haber, the man who weaponized lethal gas, is responsible for about 4 billion people being alive today thanks to the Haber-Bosch process that he won a Nobel Prize for."

He adds, "It takes some serious thought to wrap your head around his story. Things aren't always easy to understand or simply black and white, but rather all shades of grey. 'Father' really forces you to think a bit more than the average song you hear on the radio."

NEW MUSIC PLAYLIST: Keep up with each week's rock and metal releases by liking Loudwire's "Weekly Wire" playlist on Spotify, updated weekly with 50 new songs.

**Sabaton, Weapons of the Modern Age EP Artwork + Track Listing**

Nuclear Blast

1. "Father"
2. "The Red Baron"
3. "Dreadnought"
4. "The Attack of the Dead Men"
5. "The Future of Warfare"
6. "Stormtroopers"

Sabaton, "Father" (Lyric Video)

Bands Who Had Final Tours That Weren’t Final

Whether due to interpersonal turmoil, the desire to pursue other creative endeavors and/or something else, here are 10 acts who – intentionally or not – announced final tours that, well, weren’t actually final.