In the interest of full disclosure, it must be stated that I had about zero interest in really giving the subject of this review much of a chance. After all, an album named The Killer Angels (after the classic Michael Shaara novel) by a trad/power band named Civil War had awkward cheese written all over it. In addition, when it became clear that the music was indeed written about the American Civil War, it was hard to shake the image of some revisionist history teabagger nutjob with a patriotic point to make. Tough hurdle for this album to overcome, for sure.
But then I noticed two things. First, this band is based in Sweden, giving the subject matter a curious international perspective. Second, the pedigree of the lineup is damn tough to knock. The instrumental core is nearly all ex-members of Sabaton, while vocals are delivered by the unflappable Nils Patrik Johansson (Wuthering Heights, Astral Doors, etc.).
And then I listened to it. And then I was hooked. H-O-O-K-E-D hooked.
Upon first glance, Civil War really isn’t doing anything new or particularly outlandish. This is a classic mix of the trad and power metals with a huge bombastic edge and a certain flair for the dramatic. It isn’t particularly flashy in a technical sense, nor is it unconventional from a structural stand point. What it is, however, is an album that does just about every last little thing right. It might be something as obvious and simple as adding layers to a second verse, crafting guitar and keyboard solos to have a similar vibe, or inserting choral chanting during the finale of “Brother Judas,” but Civil War executes even these rather elementary songwriting tools with such perfection as to make them seem special. The band also adds in some little shifts in mood (triumphant in “I Will Rule the Universe” and heightened intensity during “Sons of Avalon”) and tempo (from pure speedy power metal to near Manowarian bombast). And the best part? They do these kinds of things constantly. The Killer Angels is that curious type of album that bucks the formula by staying constantly interesting, and it doesn’t take long for this golden collection of tunes to start burrowing into your subconscious. And they will. And then they won’t leave. Ever.
Having Nils Patrik Johansson certainly helps. For the unfamiliar, Johansson has those kind of ultra-powerful pipes that often warrant a comparison to the one and only Ronnie James Dio, and the comparison is both apt and deserved. This cat can sing; holy shit can he sing. Much like Dio, Johansson also has that rare ability to weave a tale, with each note, melody, and ascension into a higher register a thread in his tapestry. Much of the music is designed to take on intensity as songs swell, but Johansson’s performance enhances this at every turn. His stylistic range is shown in how he delivers the sensitive verse of “Saint Patrick’s Day” before belting out the song’s title in the chorus, and there are several such examples in each track. He even gets in on the band’s sweating-the-details game in how he alters his melody for the second verse of closer “March Across the Belts,” showing that even a person of his stratospheric talents need not rest on his laurels, but always aim higher.
The details, professionalism, and incredible vocals are all great traits, but where The Killer Angels really wins on the battlefield is in how each and every song possesses an unforgettable chorus. There is no adequate way to emphasize how completely irresistible these parts are, but we can certainly give it a whirl. “First to Fight” has an edge-of-your-seat-because-battle-is-about-to-break-out feel to it; “Rome is Falling” brings a get-your-goddamn-fists-in-the-air-and-pump-like-you-just-struck-oil kind of demand to the proceedings; and “Sons of Avalon” is teeming with an only-cry-for-the-dead-if-the-war-is-lost kind of veiled sorrow. The point? It all feels complex from an emotional stand point, and hammers home a key fact about The Killer Angels: this isn’t some political statement or profession of patriotic duty; this is a story, and Civil War are treating it as such. The results are therefore not heavy handed, but dramatic and constantly glorious.
Get the right people, sweat the details, write infectious jams. It’s a formula that has been employed since the beginning of rock, but still so many fail to get it right. Civil War gets it really right. The Killer Angels is the perfect example of a tried-and-true style of music being made fresh by the talents of the people who write and perform it. Lesser bands might be content letting their superstar vocalist carry all of the load, but such an approach would not yield the spectacular results heard within. The Killer Angels is on the short list of the best traditional and power metal of 2013, and is nothing less than a pure joy to digest and experience.
