With the textured strains of opening cut "Age of Man", a highly addicting, emotional slice of both hard rock & prog, it's apparent that young darlings Greta Van Fleet are looking to grow up quickly and show that they are much more than just the 'Led Zeppelin' clones that they've been tagged as the last two years. Anthem of the Peaceful Army is their brand new full-length album, which essentially qualifies as their debut following two EP's (though both of them were combined into one earlier this year) and sees the foursome growing leaps and bounds in so many ways.
The previously mentioned "Age of Man" is a revelation, a moody, emotional slice of hard rock thunder as well as intricate prog, guitars and Hammond organ working well together as Josh Kiszka's 'Robert Plant-meets-Geddy Lee' high pitched wailing soars over the top. "The Cold Wind' blends Zepp styled thunder with a bit of The Rolling Stones groove, as does the irresistible "When the Curtain Falls, Jake Kiszka's guitar slashing and screaming over some rumbling bass from Sam Kiszka and Danny Wagner's acrobatic drumming. The majestic "Watching Over" follows, simmering chords and keyboards slowly building in intensity, bluesy sitar inflected lead guitar soothes, and Josh once again putting in a great vocal performance in this distant cousin to Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks". "Lover, Leaver (Taker, Believer)" is a crisp, bluesy hard rocker with a catchy chorus and equally memorable guitar licks from Jake, who explores his Jimmy Page influences to the fullest with a cool psychedelic exploration during the songs extended middle section.
The guys dive into melodic folk with "You're the One", as lush acoustic guitars and organ bring to mind "You're Time is Gonna Come" from the mighty Zeppelin, and the lively folk continues on the bright tones of "The New Day", a track that will surely get you tapping your feet and singing along. Slide guitars come out for the bluesy rave up "Mountain of the Sun", Sam's bass rippling alongside the wealth of acoustic guitars and lead electric slide, giving way to the darker tones of "Brave New World", a haunting rocker that shows another side of the band, hints of early Rush as well as Bad Company bleeding through, crafty guitar textures, intricate rhythms, and passionate vocals from Josh all contributing to what is one of the albums highlights. The band opt for a light folk number as album closer, "Anthem" being a catchy acoustic based tune with playful vocals, percussion, and pedal steel.
Lots of variety to be found here on Anthem of the Peaceful Army, Greta Van Fleet showing that they are much more than just Led Zeppelin wanna-be's, and though there is certainly still the influence of the mighty Zep on display, they've brought much more to the table this time around. Highly recommended!
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
01 Age of Man
02 The Cold Wind
03 When the Curtain Falls
04 Watching Over
05 Lover, Leaver (Taker, Believer)
06 You're the One
07 The New Day
08 Mountain of the Sun
09 Brave New World
10 Anthem
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