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.