Music review: Greta Van Fleet – 鈥楢nthem of the Peaceful Army鈥�
Classic rock is alive and well.
For those of us who yearn for the glory days of the 1970s when groups like Deep Purple, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin and Rush ruled rock radio and area arenas and stadiums, a band of young, energetic lads from Michigan deliver the goods with an electrifying new album overflowing with tracks designed to shake the rafters and rattle the windows.
I haven鈥檛 been this excited about an emerging young rock band since Wolfmother蘑菇视频 self-titled debut dropped back in 2005.
Greta Van Fleet蘑菇视频 鈥淎nthem of the Peaceful Army鈥� is the quartet蘑菇视频 full-length debut that captures the blood, sweat and tears of pure guitar rock at its intense best.
Within minutes of listening to Greta Van Fleet, the comparison to Led Zeppelin is obvious. Jake Kiszka蘑菇视频 blazing guitar riffs echo of Jimmy Page蘑菇视频 wizardry and frontman Josh Kiszka蘑菇视频 vocals mirror Robert Plant蘑菇视频 charismatic voice.
鈥淎ge of Man鈥� opens the album in the atmospheric progressive rock style of classic Yes with Kiszka offering up Jon Anderson-like vocals describing our universal responsibilities as he declares, 鈥淎 beauty lives in every soul/The more you love the more you know/They pass the torch and it still burns/Once children then it蘑菇视频 now our turn.鈥�
Reminiscent of something off Rush蘑菇视频 鈥淔ly by Night,鈥� 鈥淭he Cold Wind鈥� follows with a great opening guitar riff and a Geddy Lee screech before transitioning into a full-fledged Zeppelin experience with Danny Wagner蘑菇视频 thunderous drumming matching Kiszka蘑菇视频 wailing intensity.
鈥淲hen the Curtain Falls鈥� is a scorching track about dealing with fleeting fame and fortune as Kiszka sings, 鈥淲hen the curtain falls/Walk the hollow halls, babe/Once a valley doll/Now you鈥檙e not at all.鈥�
鈥淟over, Leaver鈥� is the standout track for me as it is fueled with the same intensity of Led Zeppelin蘑菇视频 鈥淲hole Lotta Love.鈥� In fact, if you crank it up and close your eyes, you will be instantly transported back to 1969 and 鈥淟ed Zeppelin II,鈥� the iconic group蘑菇视频 second release that has been used by countless up-and-coming bands as a blueprint on how to successfully combine rock, blues and heavy metal.
In addition to the hard-hitting numbers, the band proves it can also construct a pretty good ballad with plenty of muscle without compromising the band蘑菇视频 rock reputation on 鈥淵ou鈥檙e the One鈥� and 鈥淭he New Day.鈥�
鈥淎nthem of the Peaceful Army鈥� was made loud to be played loud. Enjoy the next generation of classic rock at full volume.
Clint Rhodes is the 蘑菇视频 music reviewer. He can be reached at clinton43@me.com.