Continuing a banner year, the Swedish masters of heavy metal Sabaton re-up their 2025 hit “Templars” with a brand-new version featuring Leigh Kakaty of Platinum-certified, chart-topping rock powerhouse Pop Evil. The song is now available on all DSPs and digital download providers via Better Noise Music.
It’s a collision of two different genres of hard rock that feels completely seamless.
A few days ago, Sabaton welcomed Pop Evil frontman Leigh Kakaty to the stage during their set at Louder Than Life in Louisville, KY. Surprising tens of thousands of fans, they debuted this version together, leading to one of the standout moments of the massive fest. Kakaty infuses the track with a rush of fresh energy and fire. Between blasts of distortion and thunderous drums, his soaring vocals take flight. All of this momentum culminates on the chantable chorus: “Templars on the march, charge from the temple.”
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,” in which they partnered with the popular online video game World of Warships and its developer Wargaming. Since releasing in March, the single continues to buzz with north of 7.5 million Spotify streams, while the music video has tallied 4.6 million views alone.
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