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Civil War - Gods And Generals review



Reviewer:
5.8

94 users:
7.82
Band: Civil War
Album: Gods And Generals
Release date: May 2015


01. War Of The World
02. Bay Of Pigs
03. Braveheart
04. The Mad Piper
05. USS Monitor
06. Tears From The North
07. Admiral Over The Oceans
08. Back To Iwo Jima
09. Schindler's Ark
10. Gods And Generals
11. Knights Of Dalecarlia
12. Colours On My Shield

Civil War is a history buff's dream. Finally, a metal anthem dedicated to Lord Nelson! Someone else in the world dug up the story of the USS Monitor! And who could not but respect the musical memorialization of Oskar Schindler? Sweden's second-favorite library-bound power metal venture never fails to impress - in terms of lyrical content, anyway. Unfortunately, as the saying goes... history repeats itself.

I was decidedly less than enthralled with The Killer Angels, despite my profound love for Sabaton and high expectations for this splinter project; I have found, however, that revisiting that album has given me some greater insight into the lukewarm and dissatisfying nature of Gods And Generals. The Killer Angels was a very hit-and-miss album, but at least it hit some of the time. Gods And Generals severely wants for some kind of a flagship song, or at least something that sounds like it took longer to write than to record. "Bay Of Pigs," easily the most generic and pedestrian song I've heard in ages, shattered all my hope upon its unveiling, and the rest of the album puts very little effort into undoing the ravaging effects of this single.

Upon its initial release, I hadn't pegged The Killer Angels for possessing that first-album fury, that lightning strike of vitality that enlivens many a band's juvenile days, but compared to the saturated lethargy of Gods And Generals, it's practically the bastard child of Killing Is My Business if Lemmy were a drug and it were on that drug. Perhaps it has something to do with whatever turmoil led to Stefan Eriksson's sudden departure, or the malaise that motivated Oskar Montelius to retire from music; perhaps they simply ran out of ideas. Whatever the cause, Gods And Generals lacks spirit; it is as inert and lifeless as the erstwhile heroes Nils Patrik Johansson sings about. Even the lyrics, which I've praised at least for their themes, seem cut-and-pasted from older material.

The more I listen to this album, the more I find myself starting to remember the songs, and I'm displeased with this development because I fear mistaking memorability for quality and I know that I will one day give this a higher rating than what I hereby slap upon it, even though it hardly deserves it. Familiarity does not change the fact that Gods And Generals is nothing more than a recycled version of a recycled version of Sabaton, which basically makes this the product of an unending circle of cannibalism (and not in a cool way, like the Terminator franchise or certain species of spider). It is quite flat and boring, and I don't like to say these things about a band made up of musicians whom I respect, but I simply cannot talk myself out of the disappointment.

The beautiful lead guitar work towards the end of "Back To Iwo Jima" reminds me of classic Sabaton, and I truly hope that whatever spark Civil War had has not departed for good with Oskar, but at the same time I think it is time to stop being optimistic about this band. In my review of their debut, I stated my hopes that Civil War would "[end] up taking its own direction and crafting a sound that is truly its own." The opposite happened, and it seems highly unlikely that we'll be able to expect anything different from them in the near future. I myself like a number of bands that many people find generic and uninspired, but this is too much even for me.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 5
Originality: 3
Production: 6





Written on 02.07.2015 by I'm the reviewer, and that means my opinion is correct.


Comments

Comments: 10   Visited by: 193 users
02.07.2015 - 09:22
Rating: 6
ScreamingSteelUS
Editor-in-Chief
Written by deadone on 02.07.2015 at 04:43

As a huge fan of history (especially military history - I paint toy soldiers for fucks sake) I find these history themed bands to be pathetic. Regurgitating mindless historical data doesn't exactly result in inspired heart felt lyrics (and IMO music should evoke some sort of emotion).

And by the sounds of it, this is musically as shit and uninspired as the abomination that is Sabaton which in my opinion is one of the most vapid and gutless bands to ever play heavy metal.

Only band that did history alright was Iron Maiden who somehow managed to capture the emotional vibe of what they were singing about (e.g. Trooper - a suicidal charge by cavalry into massed cannon fire in Crimea).

Bands do a lot better singing about current events they might have an emotional attachment to (e.g. Skyclad and British industrial decline or some of the stuff coming out about end of Cold War or US race riots after Rodney King).


Basically if I want history, I will read about it from someone who has a clue. If I want good metal music, I'll listen to someone who can write a memorable music that conveys whatever meaning and emotional response it says on the box.

Overall, as a fellow history enthusiast, I agree that it's difficult to convey with historical lyrics the same urgency and emotion of other subject matter, even the absurd. There's nothing particularly compelling about listing off names, dates, and the bare facts of progression if you don't find some way to dress it up a bit, and Civil War mix in so much generic heavy metal tripe that it's even sillier.

Still, I sense that I'm more forgiving about that sort of thing, and I do think it's quite possible to do it right. One of the best examples that comes to mind is Iced Earth's "Gettysburg," which does a fantastic job of mixing historical detail with humanity and spirit. Even if it's not always successful, I'm glad that some bands take to the textbooks for their lyrical content; it's a nice change from the usual subjects. As I've mentioned, I love Sabaton, but boy howdy, if you hate those guys then you're going to absolutely loathe Civil War.
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02.07.2015 - 15:03
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
THIS ALBUM COVER IS RACIST AND SHOULD BE REMOVED
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14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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02.07.2015 - 15:34
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Navy SEAL US .. album fits more to US not Europe, great idea, sing about unknown historical facts as Sabbaton but do it in better way, Bay Of Pigs, how many knows what was it?
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Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
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I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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02.07.2015 - 15:38
Zap
Guest
Written by deadone on 02.07.2015 at 04:43

As a huge fan of history (especially military history - I paint toy soldiers for fucks sake) I find these history themed bands to be pathetic. Regurgitating mindless historical data doesn't exactly result in inspired heart felt lyrics (and IMO music should evoke some sort of emotion).

And by the sounds of it, this is musically as shit and uninspired as the abomination that is Sabaton which in my opinion is one of the most vapid and gutless bands to ever play heavy metal.

Only band that did history alright was Iron Maiden who somehow managed to capture the emotional vibe of what they were singing about (e.g. Trooper - a suicidal charge by cavalry into massed cannon fire in Crimea).

Bands do a lot better singing about current events they might have an emotional attachment to (e.g. Skyclad and British industrial decline or some of the stuff coming out about end of Cold War or US race riots after Rodney King).


Basically if I want history, I will read about it from someone who has a clue. If I want good metal music, I'll listen to someone who can write a memorable music that conveys whatever meaning and emotional response it says on the box.

Best comment I've read on this website in a while. I'm not a history-fanatic by any means, but bands like Sabaton are just so dull to me. People give them way too much credit for having gone to the library a few times and writing down some summaries of historical events and singing those over some uninspired keyboard melodies with a guitar in there somewhere. Anyone can do that. I'm not a huge Maiden fan, but at least they turn it into actual lyrics and I respect them for it. And "The Trooper" is indeed a great song that's a good example of that.
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02.07.2015 - 16:49
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Dead - you know Trooper is about Crimea war ... I am impressed
IMO historical lyric cincept is better as about bones, guts and so on, many bands has bad lyrics and yes also about women, pussy and legs are boring lyrics, like Whitenskae seems David never has seen pussy and wants it as 15 years teenage boy. This historical lyrics is good
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
Loading...
02.07.2015 - 16:50
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by Boxcar Willy on 02.07.2015 at 15:03

THIS ALBUM COVER IS RACIST AND SHOULD BE REMOVED


since when US flag is rasism ,,, and deny confederates existed is also wrong, same as we remove nazie german swastika from history books
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
Loading...
03.07.2015 - 02:02
psykometal
A staff guy...
Written by Bad English on 02.07.2015 at 16:50


since when US flag is rasism ,,, and deny confederates existed is also wrong, same as we remove nazie german swastika from history books

He's making a joke about the cover because there's a big bunch of bullshit hoopla in the States right now that the Confederate flag should not be displayed or sold anymore due to its connection to America's slave history.
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03.07.2015 - 07:25
Ritual_Suicide
Account deleted
Written by psykometal on 03.07.2015 at 02:02

Written by Bad English on 02.07.2015 at 16:50


since when US flag is rasism ,,, and deny confederates existed is also wrong, same as we remove nazie german swastika from history books

He's making a joke about the cover because there's a big bunch of bullshit hoopla in the States right now that the Confederate flag should not be displayed or sold anymore due to its connection to America's slave history.


For those who don't know, the "hoopla" started because a neo-confederate walked into a historic black church and murdered nine people because he was lead to believe that blacks are "raping our women and taking over this country" by the vestigial remains of the White Citizens Council movement. The uproar isn't over displaying the flag per se but about it being flown by and incorporated into the flags of several southern states. It would be like if Germany started flying the Nazi flag again to honor "German heritage" while claiming it had nothing to do with anti-semitism and racism.
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03.07.2015 - 14:47
psykometal
A staff guy...
That's funny you posted the General Lee as a symbol of Confederate recognition because (Idk exactly how up to date you are on this Confederate flag stuff over here) now many stations who air Dukes reruns are now pulling them from their schedules in order to jump on the anti-Confederate flag bandwagon.
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04.07.2015 - 01:50
psykometal
A staff guy...
Written by deadone on 04.07.2015 at 01:37


It's madness and political correctness taken too far.

The Civil War finished 150 years ago and they're only now trying to push for a banning of it? What next, ban the Union Jack cause it's a symbol of oppression and taxation without representation?

Yup. Unfortunately we've become a nation of greedy crybabies.
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