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Civilization One: Calling the Gods

Melodic/Heavy/Power Metal

4.0/5.0

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Limb Music
by Craig Hartranft,  12.09.2012

Five years have passed since Civilization One's debut album. It's been so long that I surmised that the band, formed by excellent metal vocalist Chitral 'Chitty' Somapala, was simply a 'one-off' project. But Chitty has been involved in many things since then, and 'CivOne' has gained some major recognition, notably in Sompala's country Sri Lanka since then. More about this at the end.

Civilization One: put money in my hand.

Essentially, it's good to have Chitty and Civilization One back in the melodic metal field. The second album, Calling the Gods, returns the band to their combination of melodic heavy and power metal. It's interesting that most of the songs here clock around four minutes or much less. Call CivOne's music as efficient or minimal, but they pack much into every song. Considering the time restraint, is it radio-friendly power metal? I doubt it. Songs like Evil Eye and Hell Awaiting, while catchy, are some damn heavy power metal. Basically, Calling the Gods is classic heavy power metal with a powerful rhythm section, ripping guitar solos, and Chitty's passionate vocal performance. While not novel, it's on target, and you could do much worse. Power metal fans will be happy.

Regarding the aforementioned local recognition, you might be surprised by the bonus tracks, specifically Beliving the Dream and Dreams of Fire. The former was commissioned for the Sri Lanka national cricket team at the 2011 Cricket World Cup. The latter was composed composed for Sri Lanka's national Olympic team for the London 2012 games. Neither song is 'metal,' but that does matter. What they do expose is Chitral 'Chitty' Somapala exceptional vocal range. These two songs are some of the best on the album. With the melodic power metal, Calling the Gods is easily recommended.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

With Calling the Gods, we welcome back Chitral 'Chitty' Somapala and Civilization One, and some fine melodic heavy power metal with some surprises in the bonus tracks.

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The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]