GRETA VAN FLEET | Anthem Of The Peaaceful Army | Album Review

There have certainly been bands that have blown up over the past few years in rock music. Whether it be Nothing More, Bad Wolves, or even Red Sun Rising, there are new names impacting rock radio that will potentially shape the future of the genre when the current giants start to slow down. One of those is Greta Van Fleet and in a very surprising way, this band is turning out to be the real spearhead of newer bands breaking out. "Highway Tune", the band's debut single moved at a rapid pace on the charts to achieve the #1 spot, as did followup single "Safari Song". Both of these songs were off of Greta Van Fleet's two EPs which set in stone that these musicians would be around for a long time. There hadn't even been a full-length album yet and Greta Van Fleet was already hyped up by so many people and compared to Led Zeppelin and other bands of the 60s and 70s endlessly. Now, we finally get the band's first attempt at making a full-length studio project in "Anthem Of The Peaceful Army". For those wondering if any material from the couple of EPs "Black Smoke Rising" and "From The Fires" would be included on this album, think again, because this is ten (or eleven) cuts of purely original material from the Kiszka brothers (and the other guy) that have the chance to prove that this band is a lot more than just a throwback type band designed to make 70's rock fans nostalgic. 

Listening throughout this album, you can definitely pick up upon this band's influences. Led Zeppelin is heard in their sound (of course), but there are several elements of blues, classic rock, among a few other things. The first several songs on this album are  proof of that with music that could fit perfectly on a playlist of bands that seemingly influenced them. Songs like "The Cold Wind" and first single "When The Curtain Falls" are the highlights of this section of the album as they have the best pacing throughout and they are much more memorable to me. Vocalist Josh Kiszka has a much higher vocal register that almost too many people have compared to Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin but there are several vocalists that I could also compare him to given his higher range that comes out on a lot of this material, like Brian Johnson of AC/DC for example. There are plenty of diverse sound shifts on this album as well with the rock-ier sound coming out in aforementioned tracks "The Cold Wind", "When The Curtain Falls", and even "Lover Leaver", to more calmer and reserved cuts like "You're The One", "Anthem", and even "The New Day". The musicianship is solid throughout especially when it comes to the guitarwork by Jake Kiszka, and although I could argue that they don't really separate themselves from the bands they've been compared to, this still is a well executed use of that product. 

With the good elements on this album there are a couple of pitfalls. Yes, Josh Kiszka has a good range and it works for a lot of these songs but many of the exaggerations that he does could have been trimmed a little bit from a majority of this material like at the end of "Mountain Of The Sun" and even some of the better cuts on the album such as "When The Curtain Falls". Also, there are some weaker tracks that could be argued as preferential choices like "Brave New Day". It's safe to say this is easily a project where you will be gravitated towards some songs more than others, but that doesn't make anything on this album bad or unenjoyable. There is still enough music on this album worth checking out, and it's really hard to hate or dislike this group or these songs. There is a little bit of a fun charm to a lot of this material that you could listen to while working on something to help you focus, and that's what music like this is perfect at. Overall, it will be exciting to see what road, or highway, Greta Van Fleet will take after this album since they are a new band and it stands true that debut albums aren't usually a band's best even though there was a lot that was anticipated. There is no denying that this is a strong place to start and for anyone curious, it's recommended you take focus. 

Rating: 7/10 

Leave your thoughts about this album in the comments section below. Was this album good or bad? Was it a surprise or a disappointment? All you have to do is type it in. Everybody's opinions matter even if they are different than mine. Scamp4553 will be back with more reviews and content coming your way soon.

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