I have enjoyed Greta Van Fleet’s Anthem of the Peaceful Army and From the Fires, despite Joshua Kiszka’s vocals. When I hear him, he sounds more like Bon Scott, the famous lead singer of AC/DC, than I think Robert Plant. So, for me, I think his vocals are a mismatch for the band; but we’ll talk more about that later. Bon Scott and Brian Johnson are perfect singers for the music AC/DC performs: namely rough and tumble, often dirty, in-your-face rock n’ roll. No one could complete that sound better than either of these guys.
However, the music of Greta Van Fleet, does bear a keen resemblance to Led Zeppelin. And I have read all the criticism of plagiarism, but few people mention that Led Zeppelin plagiarized the blues masters of the past century. They had to deal with some of the same criticism Greta Van Fleet is dealing with today. It is part of the world of creativity. As a new band, you want to sound unique, while at the same time identify with a fan base that will appreciate what you are creating. We all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. So, less and less is new. What Greta Van Fleet has done with The Battle at Garden’s Gate, is to set themselves apart from that Zeppelin stereotype by beginning to provide their own brand image and sound.
Greta Van Fleet hails from Frankenmuth, Michigan, a suburb of Saginaw; and consists of members: Joshua Kiszka, on lead vocals; Jacob Kiszka, on guitar; Samuel Kiszka, on bass and keyboards; and Daniel Wagner, on drums. The Battle at Garden’s Gate was released on April 16, 2021.
The opener “Heat Above”, opens with organ sounds that immediately took me back to Zeppelin’s “No Quarter” or “In the Light”, either of which are some of Led Zeppelin’s best. Alright, let’s try to tackle this Zeppelin mystique thing now. If you were a new band competing to gain followers, you might choose or maybe be guided by your own love of the favorite music you grew up with, to choose a similar style. You would have no unique ‘sound’ of your own yet. As a new band, you would have been playing mostly ‘covers’, to build your musical reputation. So, to me, it is no surprise that Greta Van Fleet picked one of the most successful bands in history to set a course to match. And on their first album you do hear a lot of similarities.
And this song opens with a cool organ, that provides key nostalgia for a fan that can no longer listen to new music from one of their favorites: because the Zeppelin no longer flies. What Greta Van Fleet has done is to add to the narrative and build on what has come before, not plagiarize. This song and the entire album contains references to a year of touring and traveling the world, that the band completed after their debut album.
On, “Heat Above”, Joshua Kiszka’s vocals are perfect. He sings, “Sorrows of the Earth. May our tears of rain wash down to bathe you. This is what life is worth. When the fires still burn and rage all around. Follow the fearsome sound. As they march to battle, hear the drums pound. We do not fight for war. But to save the lives of those who do so”. Yes, the band was confronted with a lot of the world’s dread, including a planet fighting to survive. Kiszka sings, “Can you feel my love? Rising with the heat above. Life’s the story of ascending to the stars as one”. “Heat Above” is one of the best songs on the album.
Sometimes, I think Joshua feels he must scream lyrics. Not sure why, but he has a naturally good voice if he sings normally. Maybe it is the pressure of trying to match Robert Plant, I don’t know, what motivates him, but a more direct delivery would better suit him. There are plenty of songs on this album that detract from that screaming vocal, to show him the way. Maybe, it is evolution. On that we can hope. I’m sure it would expand their fanbase.
“My Way Soon”, is a bluesy Black Crowes/Zeppelin song. Kiszka sings “I’ve packed my bags and I’ve got my freedom. I’ve sacked the rules so I don’t have to heed them. I’ll bet on a chance if I’ve just got one. I’ll throw out the plans and live with no burden”. On most of the song he says away from the screaming and it sounds so much better. A good wandering song. A song that states “I’ve packed my bags and I’ve got my freedom. I’ve sacked the rules so I don’t have to heed them”, or unequivocally, “We are writing our own chapters now”.
“Broken Bells”, is the best song on the album. It simultaneously has Kiszka’s best vocals. He sings, “I can see the faces through the broken glass. No longer pass. Looking at the sky, I see the city lights. But no star fights. I never want to fall asleep. Within our dreams the weight we saw, we reap. Though I believe the sun still shines. And I believe there comes a time. When out of silence we will sing. And even broken bells will ring. Not all the answers are the same. Yet we still play the game”. Not only a powerful statement, but the kind of lyrics and music that will help this band shed its past and build their own story for the future. Though, the sound of the music does remind me of the ending to “Stairway to Heaven”, that goes, “When all is one and one is all. That’s what it is to be a rock and not to roll”.
And after all Robert Plant didn’t scream on every song. You don’t have to scream to be heard. Eventually, I hope, Joshua Kiszka will head that understanding. The acoustic guitar, orchestration, bass, and lead electric point to higher levels of creativity and musicianship. This is my second favorite song of the year, right now. It is amazing and memorable.
“Built by Nations”, takes us away from the beauty of the music that just occurred, but more great music is on the way. This is a good song, but with many of the Zep hooks that they have been criticized for using. It is a good rocker, with plenty of Kiszka’s screams, making it one of my least favorite songs on a dynamic, powerful, and new course setting album. The electric guitar soloing is exceptional on this track.
On Anthem of the Peaceful Army, they opened with the song, “Age of Man”. On this album, they herald the “Age of Machine”. This was the first song I heard off the album, before it was available for purchase. It was my favorite until I heard, “Broken Bells”, and “Tears of Rain”. That powerful, but quiet opening, with the echoing and recurring electric guitar lead riff, is just enthralling. They could have played it forever. Then, Kiszka sings, “Perfect child. Plugged in since the womb. Prophet of the dune. In this electric tomb. Man has made. An omnipresent force. Heading on a course. For interstellar shores”. Greta Van Fleet entertains sci-fi themes. They do it well. That deep bass is excellent. Later Kiszka sings, as the machine is freed, “Feeling. Oh god, the feeling. We need some healing. God knows if you feel defeated. You have been cheated. You have retreated”. Coming at the beginning of the end of the 2020 Pandemic, the lyrics, “Feeling. Oh god, the feeling. We need some healing”, hit me square in the emotional gut. Perfect timing for this song to be released. This song was the reason I bought the album. The album has become much more than this song to me, but this is the one that brought me to the banquet, ready to consume.
“Tears of Rain”, is right now, in a tie with “Age of Machine”, for second place on this album, for me. It opens with wonderful, soft, acoustic guitar. Then, Kiszka sings, “Bathing in the light around us. Praying for the night to comfort thee. Dancing on the coals below us. Praying for the flood to set us free”. Then later, “And the planet is still turning. And the faces are still burning. And the mothers with their children. Search for the rain. “Who will bring the rain? Oh, who will bring the rain?” Yeah, he growls a little, but sings without having to scream and it sounds perfect. Someone please explain to him that you don’t need to scream to be strong.
Before I bought the album, I thought Kiszka was singing, “The planet is in peril, and it is still burning”, which would have been a great lyric too, but I feel they captured the spirit and feeling of how important we need to focus on global warming.
“Stardust Chords”, has such a beautiful spaghetti western opening sound to it; with slow guitar, heavy drums, thunderous marching, orchestration, and percussion. That bass thump is overwhelming. Kiszka sings, “Whoa, whoa. Whoa, whoa”. Then he lays out the story, “Roses in the bush. Cut down at the Garden’s Gate. It was too late. So much has fallen. Sound the broken bells. The priestess amongst us heeds. Bring in the seeds. A garden must grow”. I know the music is very different from The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Ramona”, but the song has the same kind of 19th Century feeling of history, to it. Another favorite, for sure. Kiszka’s screams are more subdued and not as grinding upon the ears. This song also plays on the Garden Gate/Biblical theme, they hedge around throughout the album.
“Light My Love”, is a great rocker. Kiszka sings, “Can you light my love? Flames glowing bright as the sun. Deeper than oceans you run. Watch as our world has begun. Your mind is a stream of colors. Extending beyond our sky. A land of infinite wonders. A billion lightyears from here now”. A beautiful love song, with little screaming.
“Caravel”, opens with some cool lead electric guitar riffs, then Kiszka sings, “Crash against wave upon wave, woah. To strange horizons, oohhh. Heel to the mist and the wind, ye-yeah. You make the movement, oohhh”. A good rocker. A young band, “Sail to the end of the world. For death or glory. We are the movement!”, “These are times you’ll remember well”, as a young band. Probably inspired after riding ‘a small highly-maneuverable sailing ship’. Another song, with little excessive screaming. The cadence and power of the drums and percussion are the most memorable part of this song.
If there are Biblical references, then there has to be “The Barbarians”, right? Kiszka sings, “Children with their toys of war. Birthright of death with a fiery breath. Funeral of any sense. Painted up in the red and dressed in lead. Are we prisoners of renegades? Well, I’ve done my time. Behold visions of burning skies.
Alas Babylon”. A good marching, rocker full of imagery.
Back to Shakespeare’s The Tempest, with “Trip the Light Fantastic”. Strings and orchestration open the piece, then , Kiszka sings, “Enter the flow. Dharma, Divine. Succeeding signs. Carbon dancing through time. Give me the truth, and I will sing on. My universe is so. To ask the questions unknown. Is to respond. To comet across the blistering hue. Beyond the spaces of false and true. Away from the world we have riddled with scars. To be wholly free and amongst the stars”. Then, some of the most powerful lyrics they have written to this point, “You are the land.
The sea and the sky. The explanation why. We’re tied to all things as one. Rhythm of space. Expansion of soul. A force beyond control. Travelers in time searching for the unknown”. Magnificent. The music is good, but the lyrics outshine the music here.
How do you close the album as powerfully as you opened it? Well first, you choose an excellent title for the closer, “The Weight of Dreams”. Then, add some brutally awesome lead electric guitar to open the song. Following that with some powerful lyrics, sung by Joshua, “All across the west we traveled wayward for. Find the weight of dreams in gold. Heaven sent us here to meet the hallowed shore. To claim the wealth that we had sold. Gold mines melting many men’s sunshine. Spoiled wine tastes so sweet we have gone blind. We stole from her a cloak of studded majesty. The queen is dead, we robbed her grave. You can still bathe in the river but it ran dry. And all of us have turned away”. “Go West Young Man”, “Manifest Destiny”, the opening of the West…and beyond. Always a great way to close a tale and bring all you have to bare on an album of promise and fortunate evolution. All played to slow, rambling electric lead guitar. Do it all, with little screaming. That’s the way!
I hear more Tea Party, in this album than Led Zeppelin, despite the familiar sounds still in place. Evolution not plagiarism. This band is evolving, and depending on whether or not you consider this or From the Fires, their second album, we are due for two monumental albums to come next in the sequence; if you follow the Led Zeppelin logic. We either get something influenced by Led Zepp’s acoustic number III, or hopefully, number IV! Yes, this band’s best days are still ahead. This is the transition album from follower to leader. Or as Zep so eloquently stated, “Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road you’re on”. Go lightly on the screaming and begin to tell the stories that last, with visionary music they are indeed capable of producing.
Track List
- Heat Above – 5:41
- My Way Soon – 4:15
- Broken Bells – 5:51
- Built by Nations – 3:59
- Age of Machine – 6:54
- Tears of Rain – 3:50
- Stardust Chords – 4:57
- Light My Love – 4:31
- Caravel – 4:56
- The Barbarians – 5:21
- Trip the Light Fantastic – 4:33
- The Weight of Dreams – 8:51
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