Anthem of the Peaceful Army is the new debut LP from Greta Van Fleet—a young, up-and-coming rock 'n' roll band based out of Frankenmuth, MI. The group took the rock music industry by storm with the release of their debut EP Black Smoke Rising in April 2017. Their debut single "Highway Tune" quickly reached the top of the charts and stayed there for weeks to follow. The group raised a lot of eyebrows due to their uncanny sonic resemblance to the band Led Zeppelin. Nearly every nuance of lead vocalist Josh Kiszka's voice calls to mind the iconic vocals of rock legend Robert Plant. The crunchy and distorted blues riffs of guitarist Jake Kiszka are quite redolent of Jimmy Page's modus operandi. And between his tightly-tuned bottom heads and his strong emphasis on triplets, drummer Daniel Wagner is very noticeably influenced by the late John Bonham. But do all these similarities work in the group's favor? Well, yes and no.
To some extent, Greta Van Fleet does have an appeal. If you're a casual classic rock fan looking for something new to listen to on the way to work, they might get your foot tapping and your head bobbing. If you're a classic rock elitist who thought "real" rock music was dead, this group might be your beacon of hope. If you like the idea of classic rock being revitalized rather than left in the past, you might like what these guys are doing. They've definitely found their secret weapon: nostalgia. But beyond that, they're not really bringing much to the table.
What makes any artist truly great is innovation, and Greta Van Fleet doesn't have any. When it comes to creativity and originality, they are completely lacking. As much as they sound like Led Zeppelin, they aren't Led Zeppelin. And their eerie similarities can actually be pretty off-putting. Every artist has influences, but this feels more like a case of imitation than inspiration. Even the lyrics on this album contain the same themes of mysticism and lasciviousness that Zeppelin is known for—only Greta's lyrics are much worse. Most of the time it feels like they were written using some cheap, Zeppelin-themed lyrics generator online. Surely there wasn't a lot of thought put into lines like, "I saw your picture and it's the best / The finest in the land." And to cement their whole Zeppelin aesthetic, Josh throws in the occasional yowl and "Oh mama." For a band that's vehemently trying to remove themselves from the Zeppelin comparisons, they're making it really difficult for themselves.
It's not like the group isn't showcasing any talent in this album. Songs like "The Cold Wind" and "When the Curtain Falls" show that the band really knows how to jam. I do generally enjoy that crunchy, distorted, Page-esque guitar tonality. The fact that Josh sounds exactly like Robert Plant is a testament to his vocal ability. While the rhythm section isn't remarkable, it's certainly proficient. As I briefly mentioned earlier, the drum kit is nicely tuned. The bottom heads seem to be tighter than the batter heads, making each stroke a little brighter and crisper. All in all, they aren't bad musicians—and the production on this record is actually pretty solid. But they still can't hold a candle to Led Zeppelin.
I know that might sound like a pretty pretentious thing to say, but hear me out. There's a great deal of modern rock bands that I absolutely love who don't hold a candle to Zeppelin. The difference is that those bands don't capitalize on imitating Zeppelin; they have originality, which results in longevity. I can understand the appeal of revitalizing the sound of the past, but you can do that without completely sacrificing novelty. For example, Wild Pink's new album Yolk in the Fur is beautifully reminiscent of artists like Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen without blatantly emulating them. Originality is what makes an artist great. There was never a Pink Floyd before Pink Floyd. There was never a Queen before Queen. There was never a Zeppelin before Zeppelin. All of those bands are remembered today because of the sound that they created. They were pioneers. That's just not the case with Greta Van Fleet. When I listen to Anthem of the Peaceful Army, I feel like I'm eating Toast'em Pop-ups. Toast'em Pop-ups aren't terrible when there's nothing else around, but I'd way rather be eating Pop-Tarts.
If anything, I enjoyed the first half of this album more than the second half. But even then, I don't think there are any songs on this record as good as "Highway Tune" and "Black Smoke Rising." The standout tracks are definitely "The Cold Wind," "When the Curtain Falls," and "Lover Leaver (Taker, Believer)." My least favorite tracks on the album are probably the acoustic ballads like "The New Day" and "Anthem." Vocally, "Anthem" was probably the lowest point on the entire record. Sometimes, the Robert Plant diction is so overdone it doesn't even sound natural. This is one of those times. In terms of musical composition, there was very little on this album that stood out to me. There aren't any especially memorable hooks or riffs. After listening to the entire album three times, the only song that stuck in my memory was "Lover Leaver (Taker, Believer)."
Overall, this just isn't a good album. If you've got an itch for some music that's both new and nostalgic, this record might be worth a shot. But ten times out of a ten, I'd rather just listen to Zeppelin. Greta Van Fleet is still young, and they will have plenty of time to grow—but nothing about Anthem of the Peaceful Army is significant or noteworthy. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
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