Which drummer is credited on 'Civil War' from Use Your Illusion II?

Steven Adler is the drummer credited on “Civil War” from Use Your Illusion II. Although Matt Sorum played drums on most of the album, Adler performed on this recording before leaving Guns N’ Roses.

“Civil War” originated as an instrumental idea by Slash and was developed into a song with Axl Rose and Duff McKagan. It first appeared on the 1990 charity compilation Nobody’s Child: Romanian Angel Appeal before being included on Use Your Illusion II in 1991.

Adler’s performance makes the track historically unusual. He was dismissed from the band during the Use Your Illusion recording period because of his heroin addiction, and Matt Sorum replaced him. Sorum therefore became the touring drummer and played on most of the band’s subsequent material, but not this studio track.

The song was also the only Guns N’ Roses performance played with Adler at Farm Aid 1990. Its anti-war lyrics and extended arrangement helped make it one of the band’s most distinctive recordings.