Swedish melodic power metal band, Civil War, features four-sixths of former members of Sabaton, plus Astral Doors’ powerhouse vocalist Nils Patrik Johansson. On its sophomore release, Gods And Generals, the album is loaded with galloping riffs, swirling keyboard melodies, vibrant vocal harmonies and huge, soaring choruses. The band's fascination with history creates an added dynamic by introducing challenging and interesting compositions with lyrics that are entertaining and inspiring. Each song is like a history lesson, only it’s not boring! The album was recorded and mixed by death metal guru Peter Tägtgren (Abyss Studios) who gave it a slick and vibrant-yet-gritty tone. Longtime friend and new guitarist Petrus Granar, who joined Civil War last year, spoke to BraveWords writer Kelley Simms about the new album and more. 

BraveWords: Being the new guy in the band, what were your expectations coming in?

Petrus Granar: “Well, I knew the guys long before I joined the band. I had already written some of the music on Killer Angels and also worked as a roadie on the tour that followed. So we knew each other pretty well already, both musically and personally. I knew they were great guys and a great band. 

So when a new album was in the works and I was offered to join the band, I was very happy to do so.

BraveWords: Were you involved in the writing process for Gods And Generals? What was the process?

Petrus Granar: “Yes, me and Patrik wrote a lot of the songs together. When the two of us write, what happens is usually that Patrik comes up with the basic formula of the song; the vocal lines, chord changes, the lyrical subject, etc. I then come up with the arrangements, usually add some instrumental parts and then record a demo. From there we discuss the song within the band and decide if it's good or not or if something needs to be changed. The other songs were written by Daniel Myhr and Patrik, but all of the members got to have their say on all of the songs.”

BraveWords: What’s your fascination with world history and how did you construct these songs?

Petrus Granar: “I don't think the historical songs should be seen as a lesson, but as exciting, inspiring and terrifying stories from our past, not to be taken too literally. Patrik is the big history buff in the band and he writes all the lyrics so it comes naturally for him. The whole band does have a fascination for history though. The thing is that it's very inspiring to write music about real historical events like the Bay of Pigs invasion or the Battle of Gettysburg. When Patrik does these beautiful lyrics it's hard not to get excited to put them to music.” 

BraveWords: There seems to be a lot more strong orchestral elements and choir vocals present on Gods And Generals compared to Killer Angels. Was this a conscious effort?

Petrus Granar: “No, it just happened that the songs turned out that way naturally. I think a lot of the orchestral elements is my influence. I'm very inspired by classical music and I like to incorporate those kind of elements into the songs I write.”

BraveWords: The vocal harmonies on most of the choruses have a huge, cinematic flavor. How’d you go about creating this mood?

Petrus Granar: “We wanted really big sounding dramatic choruses, so there is a huge amount of choirs on the album. All of the band members sing backing vocals and we also got a female four-piece choir singing the higher parts.

But yeah, I basically view the songs as five-minute movie soundtracks, so a cinematic feeling on the album is what we strived for.”

BraveWords: Celtic-flavored elements are also present on Gods And Generals, most notably on “The Mad Piper.” This seems to be a strong influence. What is the band’s connection to this style of music?

Petrus Granar: “It is a very strong influence on the band, and on me in particular. I like the Irish and Scottish folk music tradition and those elements work very well in a metal context. I think you can hear that influence in my guitar playing and songwriting. On the song “The Mad Piper,” we tell the crazy story of Bill Millin, also known as Piper Bill. He was a British soldier and part of the landing in Normandy where he played the bagpipes to raise morale while marching on the Germans. So obviously there needed to be bagpipes on the song. And that's the way it works, the story decides what direction the music should go in.”

BraveWords: There’s also a strong Viking theme throughout the album but Civil War is obviously not a viking metal band, please explain this influence/interest.

Petrus Granar: “There is only the one song, “Tears from the North,” that has anything to do with vikings. Otherwise there is no Viking theme to the band. We are Swedish though, so it's nice to have that song on the album as a little tribute to or own history, when most of our songs deal with other cultures and their history.” 

BraveWords: The album was recorded and mixed by Peter Tägtgren at the world famous Abyss Studios. He’s known for producing more extreme metal bands, but how was his approach to Gods And Generals?

Petrus Granar: “Only the drums were recorded at Abyss, the rest we did ourselves at our homes. Besides mixing the album, Peter was also involved in the arrangements of the songs. He gave his thoughts on what we could change to enhance the songs even more, like the length of different parts, tempos and things like that. He has a great ear for detail so his input helped a lot.”

BraveWords: What’s your upcoming touring plans and what does Civil War hope to achieve or accomplish next?

Petrus Granar: “Right now our focus lies on rehearsing. We will play a couple of festivals this summer and in the fall we will join forces with Powerwolf for a European tour. We haven't played live in a while so we are very excited to get out there. I've only done a couple gigs with the band so far, but those have been amazing so I'm really looking forward to the upcoming shows.”