Ripping vocal lines, screaming guitar solos, and intense drum breakdowns. Everything you could hope for from Greta Van Fleet’s (GVF) highly anticipated first official album, Anthem of the Peaceful Army. The 11 song LP released last week on October 19, 2018 and has landed on the tops of charts across the world.

Greta Van Fleet, if you don’t already know, is a young, 4-piece Rock & Roll group from Michigan who sounds like they are straight out of the 70’s. This comes from a combination of the lead singer, Joshua Kizka’s voice which sounds incredibly similar to the legendary Robert Plant, and their production team which gives them a classic sound like they recorded in an analog studio from way back in the day.

The Album kicks with an awesome, 6-minute powerhouse of a song titled Age Of Man. This song starts out by boasting Joshua Kizka’s vocals over an intimate and peaceful violin section which breaks down into a guitar riff, setting the tone for the rest of the album. Following Age Of Man is the track, The Cold Wind. This song starts off with a rocking riff that is instantly followed by the full force of Joshua Kizka’s vocals. As much as I enjoy this track, however, it must be addressed that this is one of the songs on the album that really does lack some originality from the band. Unfortunately, due to the apparent and incredible similarities between GVF and Led Zeppelin, GVF gets a lot of criticism for trying to copy the legendary group. I don’t agree with those critics, but it is worth noting when listening to their music.

The third song on the album is When the Curtain Falls, the single they released back in July of this summer. This song is one of my favorites off the album for enjoying guitarist, Jacob Kizka’s ripping skills and control over the fretboard. The riffs which drive the song forward are unforgettable. Then comes the solo which has such a raw and authentic guitar tone which has been unfortunately lost in a lot of modern rock band sounds.

The album then pushes on with a number of other head-banging songs before taming down with tracks like You’re the One and The New Day. These two are the perfect acoustic jams to throw on when enjoying a road trip or kicking back with friends. Following GVF’s “tame” section in the album, things pick right back up with the intense tracks, Mountain Of the Sun and Brave New World.

To close the album, the band brings it back down with the acoustic piece titled Anthem. They could have ended the whole thing with this beautiful song, however, would that really be appropriate for a such an intense rock band? I think not. Thankfully, they close off with a monster, 6-minute track, Lover Leaver (Taker, Believer) which closes out the LP perfectly. It’s full of Joshua’s crazy vocals rips and the rest of the bands awesome intensity.

This entire album has such a raw and authentic sound to it. Whether you believe it’s very original or not is not the concern. GVF is currently keeping a sound alive that many have feared was lost with the arrival of fake instruments and computerized music making. This album will absolutely be in my everyday playlist for a long time. I am ecstatic that there are still groups around making legendary rock and roll like this, and I can’t wait for what is to come from Greta Van Fleet.