CIVIL WAR (EN)
– Hi, thanks for your time. What are you currently up to? How is everything doing right now with Civil War?
Nils Patrik Johansson: Thank you! Well, we are doing very good. After the long recordings of our third full length album we are now eager to come out and play live again.
– You have just released your new album, entitled “Gods and Generals” so, what are your expectations on it?
NPJ: It was more than one year since we released Gods and Generals and it has been doing very good. Sold quite a lot actually and we are happy for that.
– What is the purpose of naming your album this way? Can you explain it to us?
NPJ: We are working on a trilogy about the American civil war. The first album was entitled The Killer Angels, the second one Gods And Generals. If you google a little you can easily find what the title of our third album will be
– Talking about your new work, did you enjoy the making of? What would you like to emphasise about it?
NPJ: To record an album is always pretty easy, but with this band we have had very strange recordings since we all record in different studios. It’s like a walk in hell until every piece of the puzzle is put to place. I’m almost ready for the madhouse before everything is complete. So did I enjoy the making of the album? Well, I enjoyed the writing process!
– You keep on composing military themed songs. What does it mean to you and your band? Is that important for a specifical reason?
NPJ: It is not important what so ever, but since our intention from the start was a trilogy about the American civil war, it was pretty easy to find subjects. In the future we can write about anything we want, no problems.
– And what did you want to depict with its cover artwork? Can you tell us something about it?
NPJ: It is a damn fine piece of art work which really captures what kind of hell it must have been to fight in the civil war.
– Can you describe your new album it in three words?
NPJ: I have really tough to speak about Gods And Generals as a new album since our new album will be out in November, but what the hell: Powerful, melodic and epic!
– We’ll focus on the creative process now. How does your band write songs?
NPJ: We have three main writers. It is me, Petrus and Myhr. I write many of the songs from scratch and then Myhr and Petrus help me to arrange it. They also have a couple of song ideas from scratch. So the three of us write the music and then I write all the lyrics. I must add though that Rikard and Mullback also are free to arrange their instruments how they want.
– I know your band has walked a long path, but if I asked you to choose one single song from your entire dischography as your favourite, which one would it be?
NPJ: My favourite is I will rule the universe. I actually wrote the foundation to that on the toilet, hahaha, but it is no shit song. Sorry for the bad joke.
– I see you signed a deal with Napalm Records. How do you feel about it? Do you see it as an reaching the next level?
NPJ: Absolutely. They are very serious and we feel that they believe a lot in us. So the signing with Napalm was a good decision by us.
– How do you feel about your upcoming tour? Has it become usual for you or does it still has some thrill?
NPJ: It is alway a challenge to go out on a tour. It is like an athlete preparing for the olympics. We are going out to win the heart of the fans. The day when we don’t feel that, well we can quit.
– If we focus on your interests, do you prefer the studio or rather showing up at the stage? Is creating music better to you or do you like feeling the warmth of your fans the most?
NPJ: I love both actually. The creative phase when you make the songs is a feeling hard to describe, but the meeting with the fans from a stage is also magic.
– Can you explain what will we see wen we come to enjoy your show?
NPJ: You will see a band that always gives everything it has. We may not be perfect, but our hearts are always in the right place and we sound just as good live as we do on record.
– Talking about your upcoming visit to Spain. What was your experience in our country before? Do you keep any memories?
NPJ: My memories of Spain are just great. I have always loved the Spanish audience and to travel across your beautiful country is amazing. This will be a blast!
– I know we could fill pages talking about your band but, can you tell us the word that describes Civil War better? Can you summarize it all in just one word?
NPJ: Passion!
– Some people keeps thinking about your past with Sabaton. Based in your point of view, what makes Civil War unique and different from it?
NPJ: Well, I have never been in Sabaton, but I think that I speak for all of us when I say that we are very different from Sabaton. They sound the way they do…..always…on all albums, but that is their style and they are cool with that and they are successful, so I lift my hat! We have much more variation in our music. I must say that I think that it is pretty unfair to compare us with Sabaton. They are Sabaton and we are a totally different band!
– And finally, what are your near-future plans?
NPJ: To rehearse for the upcoming Spain tour and to give our upcoming album all the support that we can. We will tour a lot more in the future, that’s for sure.
– That’s all, thank you once more for answering our questions. If you want to add some final words; feel free to do it. See you all in Barcelona.
NPJ: See you and all the cool metallers of Spain very very soon and don’t forget to check out our upcoming album! Cheers!!
Noelia Montalbán
noe@queensofsteel.com
