Anthem of the Peaceful Army
by Greta Van Fleet
  • Record Label: Republic
  • Release Date: Oct 19, 2018
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 107 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 60 out of 107
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 107
  3. Negative: 32 out of 107
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this album

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. tarsenal1
    Oct 21, 2018
    6
    This highly-anticipated album could very well be a missed opprtunity for Greta van Fleet. While there are occasional flashes of genius, especially with the track Lover, Leaver, Taker, Believer, a piece that towards the end gets proggy, which is uncartered territory for the young group, the band never really succeeds in rising above their 70s influences. On this album, Greta van Fleet doThis highly-anticipated album could very well be a missed opprtunity for Greta van Fleet. While there are occasional flashes of genius, especially with the track Lover, Leaver, Taker, Believer, a piece that towards the end gets proggy, which is uncartered territory for the young group, the band never really succeeds in rising above their 70s influences. On this album, Greta van Fleet do not present themselves as daring as they were with their LP "From the Fires", resulting in wasted potential on tracks that seem tailored to fit a mainstream audience (You're The One, Mountain of the Sun). Longer songs and more willingness for exploration that could elevate their work to a higher sphere are too scarce but tracks like Lover, Leaver and Brave New World give reason for hope.
    Torn between the golden era of classic rock and our current time, some of the songs are a mish-mash of different musical periods without a fully-developed sound that could give the band its own identity and eventually silence the worn-out comparisons to older groups.
    Even though they have not yet matured, the potential is there and hopefully Greta van Fleet will be able to develop their own sound.    … Expand
  2. kdublin20
    Oct 25, 2018
    5
    Listen, I love what this band is doing and think they're doing great things for carrying the rock and roll flag into the next generation. BUT, I find this album very repetitive and the songwriting not nearly as strong as it was on the From the Fires LP.

    I have a lot of confidence they'll improve with time, but this one just didn't do it for me.
  3. Sseliger
    Nov 5, 2018
    4
    It is early 70's Led Zeppelin, minus everything that made Zeppelin great. There are some really good moments here, riffy rock songs with power and attitude, but every song is in exactly the same vein. While Zeppelin essentially invented this type of hard rock, they rarely did songs as basic as Greta Van Fleet. Without the psychedelic breakdowns of Zeppelin's early days, the delicate folkIt is early 70's Led Zeppelin, minus everything that made Zeppelin great. There are some really good moments here, riffy rock songs with power and attitude, but every song is in exactly the same vein. While Zeppelin essentially invented this type of hard rock, they rarely did songs as basic as Greta Van Fleet. Without the psychedelic breakdowns of Zeppelin's early days, the delicate folk of their early 70's heyday, the wild exploration of their later albums, or the fluid tempos, Greta Van Fleet fails to make anything as good as what Zeppelin did. And that doesn't even mention the fact that the group has no personality of their own. Every decision seems to be made to replicate Zeppelin, without any trace of authenticity.… Expand
  4. DavidWasHere
    Oct 23, 2018
    4
    It's okay. It's certainly not as bad as certain people are making it out to be (i.e. Pitchfork). But honestly when I listen to this I don't really get anything new or fresh, just a Led Zeppelin record where everyone foamed it in. It's not like a classic rock throwback record CAN'T work. Look at bands like Foxygen or even Queens of the Stone Age. They're basically throwback bands to theIt's okay. It's certainly not as bad as certain people are making it out to be (i.e. Pitchfork). But honestly when I listen to this I don't really get anything new or fresh, just a Led Zeppelin record where everyone foamed it in. It's not like a classic rock throwback record CAN'T work. Look at bands like Foxygen or even Queens of the Stone Age. They're basically throwback bands to the glory days of classic rock radio. The difference is that with Queens they made that formula their own. When you hear Queens, you know you're listening to Queens. And say what you will about Foxygen, at least they're honest about them aping of 70s rock, and that is what makes them unique and interesting. Greta Van Fleet is only interesting because the lead singer sounds so much like Robert Plant. Which is at least admirable, but it's an impression without sounding like anything genuine. It's a lot like how all the grunge and post-grunge bands that followed in the wake of Nirvana and Pearl Jam had to sound like either Kurt or Eddie. The music isn't bad. It's pleasant, it's well played, the production is a little too polished but it's competent. Unfortunately it's also lacking in energy or grit. People might bring up Zep but they're more like Bad Company at their most tepid. Like say what you will about Zeppelin, but at least they knew how to rock out with gnarly guitar riffs, pounding drums, and the singing of what sounds like it came from the gods. Bad Company are basically the most average classic rock band you can think of that gets radio play on the classic rock stations in between the actual good stuff. I'm not expecting constant barn burners, but there is no out right rockers like Highway Tune from their previous EP. Instead all the songs start to run together in this limp slog of just "okay" playing. There's no memorable riffs or solos. The only song that's memorable is the opener, Age of Man. But that's because it sounds like a Rush song from the really early days, except Geddy decided to sing like Robert Plant, except badly!

    I wouldn't call it flat out terrible, but I'm not getting anything memorable or something that is worth revisiting. It's basically if Zeppelin decided to push out a mediocre album during the Houses and Graffiti era, except they took out the epic and mystical songs and just decided to write cock rock. To quote a review from fede01_8, it's music made for people who write in the comments section of classic rock songs on YouTube "I was born in the wrong generation."

    Was tempted to give this a 5, but the lack of memorable songs dropped it down a rating.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

53
#53 Most Discussed Album of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
53

Mixed or average reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 13
  3. Negative: 2 out of 13
  1. Q Magazine
    Nov 20, 2018
    40
    It's not completely without merit--Brave New World has a certain swagger--nut this does stray bafflingly close to tribute band territory. [Jan 2019, p.114]
  2. PopMatters
    Oct 30, 2018
    30
    For those keeping track of the hits and misses, Anthem of the Peaceful Army has a handful of truly memorable moments. ... The rest of the record is a Zeppeliny hard rock mush, the kind that happens with young people that love a thing too much haven't yet put in enough work to truly make something their own.
    Read full review
  3. Chicago Tribune
    Oct 25, 2018
    50
    Greta Van Fleet now adds its name to the list of Zep disciples who have made albums that sound kinda, sorta and sometimes exactly like its primary influence. If nothing else, the quartet has demonstrated that guitar-rock can still be popular with a young audience that either hasn’t heard of Led Zeppelin, or prefers Greta’s version to their grandparents’ original.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »