THE BEAST

Pär Sundström, bassist for heavy metal band Sabaton has finally launched the Kickstarter campaign for his new game, Lord of Metal. The campaign has smashed every target so far, with 2,139 backers. While the game is in development, Sabaton as always is busy touring the world, with a European tour just announced with a full orchestra accompanying them.

What We Know about Lord of Metal

Lord of Metal allows you to get under the hood of the heavy metal music industry. You will be responsible for booking bands, landing sponsors, building festivals, and ultimately, making decisions that have a huge impact. With mechanics that are based on real music industry experience, you can enjoy stories and complex mechanics that are brought to you by the pros. In the game, you will need to start small, growing your festivals and bands by embarking on tours and planning stage shows. You will be solely responsible for bringing color to a dystopian world that the Grey has taken over, making this a must-have game for heavy metal music fans.

Although we have a rough idea of what features the game is set to include, it’s certainly interesting to see where things could go from here. Heavy metal music fans have thrown their support behind Pär’s project , meaning interesting and unique features could be on the horizon. As the game revolves around gigs and concerts, integrating a multiplayer experience could make it even more interesting for fans later down the line.

Having virtual shows that people put together, and that take place in real-time, could be a great mechanic. People could pay a virtual ticket price to access the show, with the funds going directly to the organizer to fund future projects. Features like this would essentially work in the same way as live bingo games with events that take place in real-time . In bingo, people join a lobby at the advertised time, with some tickets being cheaper than others, like with 2p Tuesday or Bargain Bingo, where all tickets are 5p or less. In live bingo, some games have bigger rewards than others, including jackpots.

Games like Lord of Metal can take from this, offering people who buy a ticket the chance to win free virtual merch or bonuses for their festivals, showing how far-reaching the concept could be. Integrating a real-time format would also make the game feel as though it’s more in line with going to a concert in real life, which would elevate the experience.

A Bold Venture from Sundström

Sundström’s venture into gaming is daring, but he’s certainly got the experience to make it work. Sabaton has dominated the heavy metal scene for quite some time, with albums including Primo Victoria, released in 2005 to War to End All Wars, their most ambitious project to date. War to End All Wars was released in 2022 and featured artists including Floor Jansen, from Nightwish. It was also their last album to feature guitarist Tommy Johansson , who has since departed to focus on his other projects, including Majestica. 

With Sabaton set to headline their biggest shows to date in the UK, a fully-fledged European tour, and Sundström’s new project, it seems the band is on track to take the metal scene by storm, and fans are all here for it.