Civil War

When one wishes to deride a particular musical or artistic work as being overly plain or predictable, the most common analogy is to vanilla flavored ice cream. Such a label could be attributed to the recently born project of a conglomeration of former Sabaton members and present Astral Doors vocalist Nils Patrick Johansson, in much the same way as could be the case with the retro-80s heavy metal vibes embodied in the two projects that sprung this one forth. While the overall production quality, and particularly the massive guitar sound and punchy drums suggest a modern mindset, the intermingling of American and British influences from the early to mid 80s (most notably that of Dio) definitely speaks to past glory, and one that makes very little effort and hiding it.

Naturally any vanilla flavored sundae is going to have some syrup, sprinkles and other assorted toppings to go with it, but Civil War doesn't go very heavy on the extras insofar as their self-titled EP is concerned. Occasionally there's a slight nod to early Dream Theater with a fairly compelling though largely simple keyboard solo as heard on the "Say It Right" cover, and perhaps an infrequent guitar solo that bears some similarity to one of Vivian Campbell's tamer works on Dio's "Sacred Heart", but this is a collection of songs that largely try to appeal to an audience looking for things to be catchy and largely free of extended instrumental interludes or showmanship. In short, this is fit for rock radio, though put forth as something that would have been more appropriate circa 1985.

But for all the lack of surprises, Civil War definitely takes the masterful songwriting elements of both Sabaton and Astral Doors, and combines it with the superior vocal abilities of the latter outfit. Songs such as "Rome Is Falling" and "Forevermore" paint a dense landscape of heroism and tragedy, spearheaded by a keyboard drenched atmosphere comparable to what is heard on "Prima Victoria", but with a slightly greater guitar presence. The title song "Civil War" actually comes off as heavy compared to what both connected projects put out, sporting a principle riff that has a slight thrash tinge to it (think the transitional work from early 80s Diamond Head to Metallica's "No Remorse", though played a bit slower). All of this is tied together by an impressive vocal display out of Nils, whose Dio meets Udo howl brings a character of brilliance into what is otherwise a safe and plain musical affair.

It's a bit unclear as to whether this project will be primarily focused on the American Civil War, which is the direction of their soon to be full length debut "The Killer Angels", but they definitely have a winning formula for those who want a collection of easy to digest songs to sing along to while they get a history lesson on 19th century American conflicts both large and small (check "Custer's Last Stand" for the latter department, a song which is the closest thing to a speed metal song on here, though pretty slow compared to what is generally associated with European power metal). It might not rival the triumphant bluster of the Stratovarius crowd, nor the technical flair of the post-Malmsteen world populated by Luca Turilli and Dushan Petrossi, but it's sure to get the lighters in the arenas burning by the thousands.