Greta van Fleet’s debut album, Anthem of the Peaceful Army,is a modern take on the classic rock that has resonated in the music world for so long. Since the group has been around, they have drawn comparisons to Led Zeppelin, both fairly and unfairly. To even be mentioned in the same breath as the iconic British rock group is no small feat, and to get there, the music must truly be something special. For Greta van Fleet, their sound is so clearly and richly influenced by the great rockers of the 60’s and 70’s; they are unique in today’s rock climate. The genre has moved far away from the anthems cranked out in the 70’s, as it evolved to the hard rock and hair metal in the 80s, grunge in the 90s, and the indy-blues-americana that is so popular in the genre today. Greta van Fleet stands alone in rock due to their sound, yet their popularity is a sign that the market for classic rock and new takes on it is quite large. That can be seen by simply looking at the streaming numbers some of the great classic bands pull in monthly.
Anthem of the Peaceful Army begins with “Age of Man”, a slow rock anthem that figures to be their “lighters up” song when GvF plays live. Almost immediately, the group pokes fun at the comparisons they have drawn to Led Zeppelin with the line “To wonderlands of ice and snow”, playing on the line “We come from the land of Ice and Snow” from their iconic “Immigrant Song”. “Age of Man” tells the listener exactly what to expect from this record, a modern rock album clearly inspired and influenced by the greats of yesteryears.
The best song on the album, “When the Curtains Fall”, is a speaker slapper that will make everybody go wild during the guitar riff at the end. The song is a jam, and will be a major crowd pleaser for all their future live performance. Also, “When the Curtains Fall” will figure to be the moment in this album where most listeners realize, “Wow, this guy sounds a lot like Robert Plant”. Make sure you have your air guitar handy for this song.
“Lover, Leaver (Taker, Believer)” is the albums closing track, and one of the brightest spots on the album. The song features a heavy amount of Josh Kiszka howling, quite similarly to how Robert Plant would howl all over the old Zeppelin albums. The fast-paced song really showcases the bands musical prowess, keeping a frantic, tense beat that culminates at the end with all members playing deftly and Kiszka howling until it fades out.
This album is a lot of fun. There might not be a song on this album that is quite as good as their “Black Smoke Rising” from the group’s EP From the Fires. Though, “When the Curtains Fall” will dominate the modern rock playlist put together by music streaming services. There are many critics of the band and album, and to them I say: stop hating. Greta van Fleet is fun, they make music for the nostalgic, for those that love hard rock, for those that want to put on a vinyl record and play the air guitar and howl with the singers the way fans of the past did. Let’s not applaud musicians from other genres who take influence and style from those before them, and use it as a knock on rock bands. There is a lot of great music that has already been made, and the only way to continue improving music in the future is to take what works and run with it, innovate with it. I applaud Greta van Fleet for capturing a nostalgic sound that there so clearly was a huge market for.
