The Battle at Garden’s Gate
On their second LP, Greta Van Fleet continues to bow at the altar of classic rock with a heavy dose of blues-soaked riffs and transcendent imagery. “Life’s the story of ascending to the stars as one,” vocalist Josh Kiszka sings with his gravelly tenor on “Heat Above,” an optimistic call-to-arms that soars high with flourishes of acoustic guitar and Hammond organ. But when they’re not pleading for divine unity, the Kiszka brothers—alongside drummer Danny Wagner—embrace stomping, self-empowering anthems (“My Way, Soon”), majestic hard rock with medieval motifs (“Age of Machine”), and pompous power ballads (“Tears of Rain”). Less urgent and more ambitious than 2018’s *Anthem of the Peaceful Army*, it’s an album that pushes ahead with technical prowess and lots of attitude. On the epic nine-minute closer “The Weight of Dreams,” the band ascends to the pearly gates as they proudly worship the almighty Zep: “Heaven sent us here to meet the hallowed shore/To claim the wealth that we had sold.”
One nine-minute track on this second album covers almost no interesting ground across its bloated run time, which pretty much says it all
Michigan rock heroes Greta Van Fleet soar to epic new heights on sweeping second album, The Battle At Garden’s Gate
The Battle at Garden's Gate is the kind of album title that accurately reflects the contents within.
Although it's never really been proven in any quantifiable way, a recent narrative has emerged that show business favours music that has bee...
The press materials for Greta Van Fleet’s second album refer to the group using “rock ’n’ roll’s foundational elements to build an entirely new sonic blueprint.” Admittedly, these aren’t the band’s own words, but suffice it to say there is entirely nothing new about the proceedings on "The Battle at Garden’s Gate."
Whither goest thou, Greta Van Fleet, into the inky night? The Michigan band are often the subject of derision, yet for all the negative reviews, slightly
At their best at full throttle, the Michigan four-piece continue to channel 70s classic rock without restraint
Naomi Sanders reviews the new album from Greta Van Fleet! Read her review of 'The Battle of Garden's Gate' here on Distorted Sound!
Greta Van Fleet seem to lack even a passing familiarity with the last four decades of recorded music on The Battle at Garden's Gate.