When I first listened to From The Fires, I did the obvious thing of comparing them to Led Zeppelin due to the vocals and guitarwork of the Brothers Kiszka. I was excited to hear them follow the original band's progression, developing their Classic Rock grooves into mystical Folk epics and thunderous Hard Rock bangers whilst retaining what made them pure. I also claimed that their debut EP didn't sound like "a hacky tribute album" and that they added their own flair to each track. I'm reminding you of this because anyone who's listened to this album will now start to understand just how disappointed I was after listening to Anthem Of The Peaceful Army.
From start to finish, the album felt like Greta Van Fleet were writing more of a Led Zeppelin parody akin to Beatallica than a Classic Rock revival like Robert Pehrsson's Humbucker or a Rock album clearly inspired by Led Zeppelin's distinct sound like Rush's 1974 debut. It's as if the band got together, played disc one of Mothership and said "Right, I think we've got the gist of this" before writing a load of generic Bluesy lyrics and Jimmy Page riffs over the course of a single afternoon. It's not a bad album (definitely not 1.6/10) but it reeks of cynicism from either the band or an overbearing record label trying to cash in on romanticised nostalgia.
Album opener "Age Of Man" should not have kicked the record off. If anything, it should've been the closer with its slower tempo, heavier riff, longer length and dynamic build-up throughout. A Rock band's debut should proudly announce "We're here and we rock!" and whilst the band partially did that with lead single "When The Curtain Falls", a riff driven belter clearly written for radio play and general public consumption, they needed something shorter and punchier for their introduction. Luckily, we got those tracks later on in the form of "The Cold Wind" and "Lover, Leaver" but there's something missing from them.
A great song isn't just an awesome riff or memorable lyrics; it's a perfect blend of multiple contributing factors, hence why bands like Led Zeppelin and Queen are iconic. Sure, they had incredibly gifted vocalists and knew how to lay down epic riffs but the drummers and bassists played an integral part on and off the stage too. Greta Van Fleet have put all their eggs in the superficial basket of sounding like Led Zeppelin after a casual listen but when you actually focus on each aspect of the songs on the album, it feels like they were inspired by specific songs rather than the band's music as a whole.
Take Joshua Kiszka's vocals; yes, he can wail like Robert Plant and this comes in very handy now and then...but that's not all that Robert Plant did. Plant knew when to show restraint, when to actually sing. Kiszka seems limited to just shouting, even when it's completely inappropriate. "The New Day" is a great track musically but it's ruined by the shrill, abrasive vocals. Similarly, Bluesy number "Brave New World" contains some decent riffs and percussion all crafted into a cracking Hard Rock song, only for it to be spoilt by unnecessarily loud shouting in the chorus. Even the verses sound needlessly aggressive for the music, something that only becomes more obvious the more you listen to each track.
It's a shame that one of the best attributes of the band's previous work is easily the weakest here although thankfully the guitarwork is still decent. A little uninspired here and there ("Watching Over") but great when it counts and serviceable throughout. Bass and drums do their job of making the band sound like a Led Zeppelin clone, only without the creativity and spark that Jones and Bonham effortlessly channelled into their music. However, there's only so much I can criticise the band's involvement in making the album before I start to question whether this disappointment truly lies at their feet or the record label's.
Anthem Of The Peaceful Army feels like the product of executive interference more than the band running out of creative steam after only a couple of years (like Royal Blood). There's no way a Rock band gets this level of promotion and attention in the media for a debut album without record labels pulling strings and even then, they'll only do that if they think there's something to gain from it. Right now, nostalgia is in so clueless, corporate executives are obviously going to try and cash in on that before the tide turns. I wouldn't be surprised if Greta's next release sounds wildly different in response to negative reactions to the album sounding like a poor attempt at recreating Led Zeppelin II because record executives only operate on extreme ends of the spectrum.
I rate the album 5/10 for being adequate but ultimately a missed opportunity for a truly great album. When writing reviews, I try to avoid directly comparing new bands/albums with a specific band/album from the past but in this case, I think it's fair to go into similarities and differences between Greta and Led Zeppelin seeing as how their striking musical (and attempts at visual) likeness to the 70s Rock pioneers is their central gimmick and it IS a gimmick. You can compare modern bands like Wolfmother and Muse to older Classic Rock acts but at least they developed their own sound and musical style, forging their own way into the Hall Of Rock
Normally I would give bands four or five albums to establish their sound, release their "best" album and find new ways to innovate their material as they start to head into a new decade. For Greta Van Fleet, I'm actually hoping they mix things up straight away. Whilst I'd still love to hear their take on some of Led Zeppelin's more ambitious music (as the band do have a natural talent for sounding like Led Zepp that would be absolutely wasted if not utilised in one way or another), I think Album 2 needs a couple of tracks that deviate from the generic; maybe some Hard Prog or synth-based Arena Rock making up 20% and the remaining 80% being more of the same, albeit with toned down vocals and better lyrics.
All in all though, the good thing about music is you can still enjoy it with repeat listens so if you really just want good old fashioned Classic Rock with great riffs and amazing vocals, all of the original Led Zeppelin albums are readily available online and they still stand the test of time. Or to put it another way, when you want good Rock, think of Led Zeppelin, not Greta.
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