''Carolus Rex'' is the sixth studio album by Swedish

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

band

Sabaton A sabaton or solleret is part of a knight's body armor that covers the foot. History Fourteenth and fifteenth century sabatons typically end in a tapered point well past the actual toes of the wearer's foot, following fashionable shoe shapes o ...

. It is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

based on the rise and fall of the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...

, whose monarch

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...

gives it its title. It was released with both English and Swedish vocals. It is the last album to feature guitarists Oskar Montelius and Rikard Sundén, drummer Daniel Mullback and keyboardist Daniel Mÿhr. It was produced by

Peter Tägtgren Alf Peter Tägtgren (born 3 June 1970) is a Swedish musician, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band Pain i ...

in Abyss Studios. The album received critical acclaim and commercial success, achieving gold certification in Poland and quadruple platinum in Sweden. In 2015, four ''Carolus Rex'' songs were featured in the ''Sabaton Soundtrack'' DLC for the historical grand strategy game ''Europa Universalis 4'' by

Paradox Interactive Paradox Interactive AB is a video game publisher based in Stockholm, Sweden. The company started out as the video game division of Target Games and then Paradox Entertainment (now Cabinet Entertainment) before being spun out into an independen ...

. The four included with the DLC were "The Lion from the North", "A Lifetime of War", "The Carolean's Prayer", and "Carolus Rex". Another song ("The Art of War") from Sabaton's ''

The Art of War ''The Art of War'' () is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is com ...

'' album was also included.

Reception

As of 18 September 2012, the album is certified gold in Sweden, selling over 30,000 copies (20,000 copies sold is needed for an album to be certified gold in Sweden). As of March 2013, the album is also certified gold in Poland. On 18 June 2013, ''Carolus Rex'' was certified platinum in Sweden with 40,000 album sales, making it the "most successful Swedish heavy metal album ever" according to the band. On 28 September 2018, Sabaton announced that the album had been awarded quadruple platinum status after remaining on the Swedish chart for 326 weeks, and commemorated this with a number of limited edition versions and merchandise. These were set for release on 30 November 2018, the 300th anniversary of the death of Charles XII. In 2019, ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'' ranked it as the 20th best power metal album of all time.

Track listing

A Swedish edition of the album, with Swedish lyrics, is also available. The limited 2-CD mail order edition of the album includes the English version with all of the bonus tracks and the Swedish version, as well as alternate artwork.

Covers

* Fellow

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabita ...

-based metal band Follow the Cipher, which includes ''Carolus Rex'' contributing songwriter Ken Kängström, covered "Carolus Rex" on their 2018 self-titled debut album. ''Metal Injection'''s review of the album noted Linda Toni Grahn's version of the vocals sounded "more haunting". * German metal band

Feuerschwanz Feuerschwanz (German for 'fire tail') is a German Medieval metal band founded in 2004 in Erlangen. History 2003 - 2013: Formation and Early Years Peter Henrici, a bassist for the band ''Merlons Lichter'' at the time, originally had the idea ...

released a cover of "Gott mit uns" for their 2020 studio album "Das Elfte Gebot".

Personnel

Band members

Joakim Brodén Joakim "Jocke" Brodén (born 5 October 1980) is a Swedish-Czech musician who is the lead vocalist, keyboardist and occasional third guitarist of the Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton. He and bassist Pär Sundström formed the band in 1999. Earl ...

– lead vocals *

Pär Sundström Pär Sundström (born 8 June 1981) is a Swedish bass player. He and Joakim Brodén are the last remaining founding members of heavy metal band Sabaton. He is also the band's manager and one of the band's lyricists. Life Sundström was born i ...

– bass * Oskar Montelius – guitars, backing vocals * Rikard Sundén – guitars, backing vocals * Daniel Mÿhr – keyboards, backing vocals * Daniel Mullback – drums

Guest musicians

– vocals on "Gott mit uns" and "Twilight of the Thunder God", guitar solo on "Twilight of the Thunder God"

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2012 albums Sabaton (band) albums Nuclear Blast albums Albums produced by Peter Tägtgren Concept albums Cultural depictions of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Cultural depictions of Charles XII of Sweden Swedish nationalism