SABATON Unveil New 'TEMPLARS' Version Featuring POP EVIL's Leigh Kakaty

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The collaboration debuted at Louder Than Life in Louisville, with both bands embarking on a North American tour.

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Sabaton have released a new version of their 2025 single 'Templars,' featuring Leigh Kakaty of Pop Evil. The song is now available on all DSPs and digital download providers via Better Noise Music.

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The collaboration was first debuted live when Sabaton welcomed Kakaty to the stage during their set at Louder Than Life in Louisville, KY. The bands surprised tens of thousands of fans by performing the new version together, marking one of the standout moments of the festival.

Regarding the new version, Sabaton vocalist Joakim Brodén says, ''Templars' was a hit with our fans when we dropped it last year to introduce our 11th studio album, Legends. This year, we wanted to do something a little different with it, and teaming up with our North American tourmates, Pop Evil, just made perfect sense. Having a fantastic vocalist put his own stamp on the track adds a whole new layer and gives the song a fresh energy that we're really excited for everyone to hear. It's also a great way to get everyone fired up for our upcoming tour in North America. It's going to be a blast touring with Pop Evil, and we hope our fans enjoy this new take on the song.'

Bassist Pär Sundström added, 'We've always enjoyed finding new ways to revisit our music, and 'Templars' felt like the perfect song to experiment with. When the opportunity came to collaborate with Pop Evil due to them joining us on our upcoming North American tour, it was an easy decision. Leigh's take on the track brings a different attitude. It's exciting to see one of our songs evolve like this.'

'When Sabaton approached me about contributing to 'Templars,' I was immediately intrigued,' says Kakaty. 'I've always appreciated the band's ability to bring history to life and this song stood to that power. The track gave us the opportunity to explore loyalty, purpose, and the challenges that come with standing by what you believe in. 'Templars' captures the triumph and diversity — the kind of energy and emotion that we all look for in music. Collaborating on a song with such strong storytelling was a real privilege. Heading out on tour together in the fall makes the track feel even more special for me.'

The new single arrives on the heels of 'Yamato,' on which the band partnered with the online video game World of Warships and its developer Wargaming. Since releasing in March, the single has tallied north of 7.5 million Spotify streams, while the music video has tallied 4.6 million views. The band had previously partnered with World of Warships and Wargaming for 'Bismarck' in 2019, which has garnered more than 124 million Spotify streams to date, while its music video has tallied over 111 million views.

Sabaton released their latest full-length album, Legends, at the end of 2025, which has racked up nearly 200 million total streams.

Sabaton will embark on the 'Legends On Tour' trek across North America this month. The tour kicks off on September 23 in Halifax, Nova Scotia and wraps on December 12 in Fort Lauderdale. Pop Evil and Wings of Steel will serve as support.

9/23 — Halifax, NS — Scotiabank Centre

9/25 — Laval, QC — Place Bell

9/26 — Ottawa, ON — History Ottawa

9/27 — Toronto, ON — Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto

9/29 — Thunder Bay, ON — Thunder Bay Community Auditorium

10/1 — Winnipeg, MB — Burton Cummings Theatre

10/2 — Winnipeg, MB — Burton Cummings Theatre

10/4 — Edmonton, AB — Edmonton Convention Centre

10/5 — Calgary, AB — Grey Eagle Event Centre

10/8 — Vancouver, BC — PNE Forum

11/6 — Dallas, TX — South Side Ballroom

11/7 — Houston, TX — 713 Music Hall

11/8 — San Antonio, TX — Boeing Center at Tech Port

11/11 — Phoenix, AZ — Arizona Financial Theatre

11/12 — Los Angeles, CA — Hollywood Palladium

11/14 — Wheatland, CA — Hard Rock Live

11/17 — Salt Lake City, UT — The Union Event Center

11/18 — Loveland, CO — Blue FCU Arena

11/20 — Omaha, NE — Steelhouse Omaha

11/21 — Milwaukee, WI — Landmark Credit Union Live

11/22 — Minneapolis, MN — The Armory

11/24 — Chicago, IL — The Salt Shed

11/25 — Des Moines, IA — Vibrant Music Hall

11/27 — St. Louis, MO — The Factory

11/28 — Cincinnati, OH — The Andrew J. Brady Music Center

11/29 — Detroit, MI — The Fillmore Detroit

12/1 — Boston, MA — MGM Music Hall at Fenway

12/2 — Philadelphia, PA — The Met

12/3 — Pittsburgh, PA — Citizens Live at the Wylie

12/5 — Virginia Beach, VA — The Dome by Rutter Mills

12/6 — National Harbor, MD — The Theater at MGM National Harbor

12/8 — Atlanta, GA — Coca-Cola Roxy

12/9 — Nashville, TN — The Truth

12/11 — Orlando, FL — Hard Rock Live

12/12 — Fort Lauderdale, FL — War Memorial Auditorium

Founded in 1999 in Falun, Sweden, five-piece heavy metal band Sabaton are known for their ability to bring stories from the past to life with anthemic, high-energy heavy metal. The band currently has 11 studio albums in circulation, including Legends (2025), The War To End All Wars (2022), The Great War (2019), The Last Stand (2016), Heroes (2014), Carolus Rex (2012), Coat Of Arms (2010), The Art Of War (2008), Metalizer (2007), Attero Dominatus (2006) and Primo Victoria (2005), alongside a number of EPs. Released on October 17, 2025 via Better Noise Music, Sabaton's new full-length studio album, Legends, ushers in a new era for the band, going further back in history than ever before and marking a distinct change in direction from their recent focus on World War 1 and World War 2. In March 2026, the band surprised fans with their single, Yamato, accompanied by a music video created in partnership with World of Warships.

Sabaton have embarked on headline tours across Europe — including multiple sold-out runs in their homeland — along with the Americas, Australia and New Zealand with acts including Babymetal, Lordi, U.D.O., Epica, Amaranthe and others. The band also hosts its own Sabaton-branded events (Sabaton Open Air, currently on hiatus, and the Sabaton Cruise).

At the end of 2025, Sabaton completed The Legendary Tour 2025 in Europe with The Legendary Orchestra, a project developed by the band. In February 2026, the band kicked off their Legends On Tour North America run, with 25 dates across the USA and 7 in Canada.

In 2019, the band launched the Sabaton History Channel on YouTube. In April 2023, Sabaton were honoured with the Enlightener of the Year Award 2022 from the Swedish Skeptics Association, becoming the first rock band ever to receive the award. Established in 1987, the accolade is traditionally reserved for academics, authors, journalists and media outlets who go above and beyond to educate the public.

A global museum project entitled History Rocks was launched by Sabaton on June 12, 2023, centred on the band's animated film The War To End All Wars — The Movie. Over 140 museums spanning 30 territories around the world participated in the event during the two weeks surrounding the 105th anniversary of Armistice Day (November 11, 2023). History Rocks was launched as a charity initiative to raise awareness of the importance of history and encourage more people to visit and support local museums. Following post-event demand, the film was later released on major video streaming services including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and YouTube on May 11, 2025.

In October 2024, Sabaton celebrated the global premiere of their concert film Sabaton – The Tour To End All Tours, filmed at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam the year prior. Over 1,200 cinemas in 28 countries screened the concert film, which was also later released on streaming services in February 2026.

In the more than 25 years since the band's launch, Sabaton has headlined major festivals, sold-out arena concerts worldwide and gained a following across the globe. Since their 2005 debut album, they've earned Gold, Platinum, and multi-Platinum certifications in territories around the world. They've also had eight albums score Top 10 international chart status, and six claim the Top 5. Sabaton has accumulated more than 3 billion streams across all streaming platforms and more than 2 billion views on YouTube.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/SABATON-Release-New-Version-of-TEMPLARS-Featuring-Leigh-Kakaty-20260918)._