For those not in the know, Greta Van Fleet is an American rock band from one of my all-time favorite places to eat Chicken, Frankenmuth, Michigan, formed in 2012.

It consists of vocalist Josh Kiszka, guitarist Jake Kiszka, bassist Sam Kiszka, and drummer Danny Wagner and they were signed to Lava Records in March 2017.

A month later the band released their debut studio EP, Black Smoke Rising and their debut single, 'Highway Tune', topped the Billboard US Mainstream Rock and Active Rock charts in September 2017 for four weeks in a row.

A second EP From the Fires, containing the four songs from Black Smoke Rising and four new songs, was released on November 10, 2017, alongside a second single, 'Safari Song'.

Their debut full-length studio album, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, was released on October 19th, 2018 and it immediately topped the Billboard Rock Album charts in the first week after its release!

Furthermore, the album's first single, 'When the Curtain Falls' was released ahead of it in July and eventually became the band's third number one US single on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts!

Oh, and for the record (no pun intended, Anthem of the Peaceful Army also launched atop the Billboard Hard Rock charts and reached the number one spot on the Billboard Top Album Sales charts in the first week after its release.

1. 'Age Of Man'
2. 'The Cold Wind'
3. 'When The Curtain Falls'
4. 'Watching Over'
5. 'Lover, Leaver (Taker, Believer)'
6. 'You're The One'
7. 'The New Day'
8. 'Mountain Of The Sun'
9. 'Brave New World'
10. 'Anthem'

On an album that has listeners divided, much like I haven't witnessed for many, many years, it begins with the euphoric build of 'Age Of Men' and backs that up with both the free-flowing beauty 'The Cold Wind' and the triumphant jam of 'When The Curtain Falls.'

I say divided for, and if you are not aware, Greta Van Fleet have been accused of riding the Led Zeppelin copycat vibe from the very beginning. Sure, yes, they do embody that sound (and scarily far too well, to be honest), but you can also tell that here on this album they are trying their hardest to shake the whole Zeppelin clone reputation with these new songs.

That said, and with not enough out-and-out rockers on display here, in my humble journalistic opinion, the eastern-tinged heavy-hitter 'Watching Over' is yet another stand out cut, and one that most certainly allows us to admire the vocal length and depth of Kiszka.

That's followed by the pounding 'Lover, Leaver (Taker, Believer)' with the melodic, mid-tempo ballad 'You're The One' then backed by one of my own personal favorites, the psychedelic hipsway of 'The New Day.'

The anthemic 'Mountain Of The Sun' is another stand out track that transports you lovingly away from your mundane lives, and then the album rounds out with the gentle guitar workings of both 'Brave New World' and then 'Anthem.'

In truth, any attempt to capture the mystical quality of much of Zeppelin's repertoire falls flat, mainly due to what I mentioned above (that they are trying hard to swerve that curve, whilst still sounding just like them) and so minus that hard-edge blues underpinning of most-all Zeppelin's songs means that what made Plant and company special, falls a little flat here with GVF in 2018.

That's not, however, to say that GVF is a bland, flat copycat band from small-town Michigan, because that would be so, SO wrong to label them as, trust me.

For they have the talent for musical greatness, of that be assured, but the real question is can they change; or do they want to? Then again, do they need to? The jury is still out on this with the aforementioned divided listening community here in Michigan. Now it's up to you to make your feelings known.

Amazon CD Purchase Link

www.GretaVanFleet.com