There’s a burning question that sears into the minds of aging rockers around the world. And that is ‘who’s going to fly the flag once the Baby Boomer and Gen X bands retire?’ Now, thankfully we’ve got some time for the Gen X bands. And there are some Baby Boomer bands that are impressively sticking it out for the long run (i.e. Judas Priest). And there are a couple of younger than Gen X bands out there (Breaking Benjamin). But those bands are A) few and far between and B) not that much younger than Gen Z. But there is hope on the horizon. With the upcoming Gen Z. These kids love hard rock and metal, old school. And there’s no better example than the kids from Michigan, Greta Van Fleet.
First off, I understand why there’s criticism. After all they do sound just like Led Zeppelin. Not heavily influenced like Zebra or Kingdom Come. Literally just like Zep. The similarities are uncanny. Now, that being said, they’re just kids. I mean, 18 year old kids. So it’s not like they’ve been around, seen the world and developed their own original sound. Remember, Motley Crue’s debut ‘Too Fast For Love’ isn’t exactly a purely original record. It took some time for them to find their true sound. It took King’s X about seven years to find their sound. And like those bands it’s going to take a little time for Greta Van Fleet to find their sound. But they have a good launching point. Their debut album ‘From the Fires’.
It’s a solid first outing, comprised of two EP’s. Despite its unoriginal qualities. These kids know how to play. They know how to write strong song material. And they’re good live. Those are the three requirements of a great band. The album opens with ‘Safari Song’ and the Led Zep sounds hits instantly. Singer Josh Kiszka sounds truly like the second coming of Robet Plant. Maybe even a little too much. As the record moves into ‘Edge of Darkness’ and ‘Flower Power’ the Zep only intensifies. There are however some vocal moments of originality that want to shine through. There’s a glimmer of hope with them finding a more genuine sound for themselves. ‘A Change is Gonna Come’ sounds like pure 1969, Janis Joplin, revolution, summer of love rock. Then their hit come up next. ‘Highway Tune’ is a glorious homage to real rock music. With lyrics like ‘No stoppin’ on the highway girl/’Cause I wanna burn my gas’, you can’t go wrong. You also can’t go wrong with the groove of the song. ‘Meet On the Ledge’ is one of the strongest songs on the album. A great sing along chorus complete with the desire to get the lighter out. An old school 70’s ballad tailor made for the arenas. The album closes with ‘Talk On the Street’ and ‘Black Smoke Rising’. The latter being a very strong, spacey Led Zep like track.
Over all the debut album of this very young band is really good. It’s just that you have to get past the Led Zeppelin similarities to really enjoy it. And again, their just kids. So who knows what’s going to happen in the future for these guys. This debut is great album to get a record company interested. Then have a guide to help them find their own soul. I also caught them on Eddie Trunk’s show where they do acknowledge the fact that they do sound way to similar to Zep. So the band is clearly aware of this. But at the end of the day, this is a solid first outing. And a real rock record from a young generation that’s giving hope to many fans out there. They’re successful for a reason. And that’s because people want to hear real rock music and it’s just not out there. And this band comes in a fills that void. Hopefully it will start a chain reaction of real rock music coming back into the mainstream.
