Hellfighters (song)

Hellfighters
Album	The War to End All Wars (2022)
Length	03:36
Music	Brodén / Rörland
Lyrics	Brodén

Tracklist
1. Sarajevo
2. Stormtroopers
3. Dreadnought
4. The Unkillable Soldier
5. Soldier of Heaven
6. Hellfighters
7. Race to the Sea
8. Lady of the Dark
9. The Valley of Death
10. Christmas Truce
11. Versailles

Hellfighters is the sixth song by Sabaton on the album The War to End All Wars.

Information

• The band wanted to write a song about Harlem Hellfighters for The Great War, but they didn't have a credible information nor a music that would've worked with the lyrics.
• It's one of Joakim's favorite stories.
• Chris and Hannes said that it's one of their favorite songs from the album.

Background

Joakim: "The 369th regiment were The Harlem Hellfighters, the African American and Puerto Rican unit. Back in those days, the Americans wouldn’t really want to fight with them, so they were sort of handed off to the French, who called them the Men of Bronze. They were the unit that served the longest at the frontline. Obviously, people were in World War I for a long time, but you’d rotate in and out of the front every week or two. But these guys were there for six months — that’s just brutal. And you want a heavy metal song title? It doesn’t get much better."

Joakim: (...) I think one of the favourite stories is about the Harlem Hellfighters. I was absolutely sure it was gonna be on the album, but we didn’t have the right song for it. It’s about this group of African-American soldiers, and nobody wanted to fight alongside them, because it was different times, people didn’t know better. However, quite soon, they realised that no one wanted to fight against them either, because they were savages in battle. And, come on, it’s a perfect song title already in the name: fucking Harlem Hellfighters!

Joakim: "(...) I was sure we would have covered the Brusilov Offensive or the Harlem Hellfighters. Because Harlem Hellfighers for fuck’s sake is the coolest metal song title ever."

Joakim: "(...) For every story we choose to tell, we got about 10 stories. And one story might exclude another one. Sometimes we want to get emotional side. Sometimes we want to make the most effective side. And sometimes our favourite stories are not even on the album. My favourite story is about Harlem Hellfighters. African-Americans fighting and nobody wanted to fight along side them. Pretty soon they found out nobody want to fight against them either. They were total badass! And free song title! Harlem Hellfighters! It´s like everything is served on the plate. But we didn´t have right music. (...)"

Pär: "We had a cool title and we wanted to do it and it would be really funny. We had "The White Death" but there was "The Black Death" as well. It was a part of Harlem Hell fighters; there he was known as “the black death”. So, we would have a song “white death” and “black death”. We did not find what would be needed to be excited to write this song. The information we had about it was not that well certified. This is a black guy in the beginning of last century, it was not so popular to include him into the history books in those days."

Chris Rörland: "I think the story of "Hellfighters" is very brutal. That colored people, African-Americans, were not valued the same as the whites who fought in the same army. It's disgusting how that happened, purely on the basis of a different different skin color. Horrible and incomprehensible. It is nice to pay attention to that. (...)

Chris Rörland: "(...) that’s something very different and unique from what Sabaton has done before, also very fun and difficult to play."

Hannes van Dahl: "(...) I really dig HELLFIGHTERS, for how the song came out, it was a blast recording and both Chris and I really went for it in that one; And also for the story behind it."

Historic fact

The 369th Infantry Regiment, formerly known as the 15th New York National Guard Regiment and commonly referred to as the Harlem Hellfighters, was an infantry regiment of the New York Army National Guard during World War I and World War II. The regiment consisted mainly of African Americans, though it also included several Puerto Rican Americans during World War II. With the 369th Infantry Regiment, it was known for being one of the first African-American regiments to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I.

The regiment was nicknamed the Black Rattlers. The nickname Men of Bronze (French: Hommes de Bronze) was given to the regiment by the French and Hell-fighters (German: Höllenkämpfer) by the Germans. During World War I, the 369th spent 191 days in frontline trenches, more than any other American unit. They also suffered the most losses of any American regiment, with 1,500 casualties.

Live

• The song wasn't played live.

Lyrics

From a land across the ocean, to the western front where they served Fought with courage and devotion, preconceptions turned As the spring offensive kept churning, where the men would earn their name See the tides of battle turning, and their foes ignite their flame Hear the toll of the bell, kept fighting for 6 months in hell As the war rages on, they fight at the edge of the Argonne Hear the toll of the bell, over 6 months in hell Out of the trenches they came As the war rages on, at the edge of the Argonne Hellfighters earning their name They would have no prisoners taken, and they never lost any ground Earned the cross of war unshaken, never turned around As the armistice is drawing closer, the 369th Kept on fighting until it was over, and they were first to reach the Rhine Hear the toll of the bell, kept fighting for 6 months in hell As the war rages on, they fight at the edge of the Argonne Hear the toll of the bell, over 6 months in hell Out of the trenches they came As the war rages on, at the edge of the Argonne Hellfighters earning their name Hear the toll of the bell, over 6 months in hell Out of the trenches they came As the war rages on, at the edge of the Argonne Hellfighters earning their name

Official Lyric Video

SABATON - Hellfighters (Official Lyric Video)

Sabaton History

Hellfighters - The Legend of the Harlem Hellfighters - Sabaton History 123 -Official-