Greta Van Fleet – Anthem of the Peaceful Army

Release Date: October 19, 2018 via Republic Records

11 October 2018 – Great Van Fleet is set to release their first full length album, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, on October 19th.  After 2017’s meteoric rise and wide success of their EP, From The Fires, the band is ready to take the next step up on the rock ladder.  They have sound.  They have the look.  They are growing their fan base across the internet.  All of the ingredients needed to capture attention, worldwide.  But do they deliver on this album after setting the bar so high?

I think they could have taken the easy road and put ten upbeat, fast paced songs and called it a day.  It probably would’ve satisfied the fans as well as the critics. But I like what Greta Van Fleet has done here.  They’ve decided to spread their wings a bit and take a few risks, while still keeping the recipe from some of that magic they found on From The Fires.

The album opens with Age Of Man.  Truthfully I wasn’t expecting such a laid back start.  But after I realized what was happening, I found myself grooving along.  “Beauty lives in every soul, the more you love the more you know”  Pretty insightful lyrics to a powerful song.  The second track, The Cold Wind, is my absolute favorite.  For me it’s the chorus.  There’s something very special about how it all comes together out of the verses.  It has a timeless feel to it.

The first single and track three is, When The Curtain Falls.  Singer Joshua Kiszka places his timely screams and quick spoken lyrics, nicely on this track.  It’s one of the better “falling from grace” type songs I’ve heard.  This is probably due to the swagger that the band brings throughout the song.  Track four, Watching Over, stands out for me because of the drums.  Daniel Wagner’s snare has a different sound than we’ve heard before.  And don’t get me wrong, I love his snare tone, but this song’s snare has a nice late seventies, early eighties sound that drew me in right away.

Song five is called Lover, Leaver (Taker, Believer).  This has a slick groove to it.  During the intro, I love hearing Jake Kiszka’s guitar thrown almost entirely onto one side, while everything else goes about it’s business, giving it such a vintage sound.  It’s also one of the best solo’s he’s laid down so far.  You’re The One, is up next and features a nice combination of warm acoustic guitars and a smooth electric piano and organ.  It felt a little different, thematically, than we are used to but they make their way through it with ease.  Their growth continues on with this song.

The New Day is another one of my very favorites on the album.  That turn around right before the lyrics start, is a nice piece of writing, musically.  Once again the acoustic guitars are warm and rich.  Song eight, Mountain Of The Sun, brings us out of a couple of acoustic guitar based songs with a nice little slide induced riff.  Once the music really starts, the band plays into their sweet spot.  This is truly what they do best.  I thought maybe a little too much in their comfort zone but the pre-choruses are so damn cool.  In fact, right around 2:20, where that ultra cool pre-chorus starts, we get to hear bassist Samuel Kiszka show off some tasty chops before heading into a really cool breakdown.  Coming out of that breakdown, Daniel Wagner finishes it off with a nice drum fill that is different from his more familiar rolls.  I’d love to hear more of this as the band continues to grow musically.

The album closes with two songs that are very different from one another.  Brave New World has a dark, almost, Soundgarden-esque feel to it as it begins.  At 3:15 a beautiful breakdown happens and the vocals and drums carry this unique piece of the album, before coming back into the heavy, dark outro.  The last song on the album is Anthem.  It’s a nice, peaceful way to end the record.  This stripped down song features some nice percussion from what sounds like a cajon.  I couldn’t decide whether or not I liked Joshua’s phrasing of the word “mind”. (When you hear it, you will know what I’m referring to) But after several passes, I’ve decided that I really like what he did there.  There are a few quirky things he’s doing on this album that have really become some of my favorite things about Anthem for a Peaceful Army.

Overall, I think the band has taken a successful step forward and are growing both musically and talent wise.  They still retain that swagger filled, Zeppelin-inspired sound that has energized the rock world, but also see the importance of pushing limits and growing their overall sound.  Will I understand if someone prefers From The Fires?  Absolutely.  I may even do so myself, but I can’t deny some of the special things they have created on this album.

So did they deliver on this album after setting the bar so high?  I would say, they have.

-Tommy Marz

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ANTHEM OF THE PEACEFUL ARMY

Age of Man
The Cold Wind
When the Curtain Falls
“Watching Over”
Lover, Leaver (Taker, Believer)
You’re the One
The New Day
Mountain of the Sun
Brave New World
Anthem