The Battle at Garden's Gate

Greta Van Fleet aren’t offering anything innovative or original, and much of their appeal surely comes from listeners’ appetite for simpler times of players plugging in and rocking out which will never truly be rekindled. Hand yourself over to a psychedelic song of praise like Trip The Light Fantastic, though, or fall into The Weight Of Dreams’ fathomless nine minutes, and this legitimately might be the next best thing.

Greta Van Fleet has taken full advantage of their moment. They've cleaned up the mistakes of their first album, fleshed out their atmospheres into some truly lush and breathtaking territories, doubled down on their heavy rock edge, and crafted something that is far better than it has any right to be. Bask in it without feeling any shame.

GVF strut and swagger through a sweeping hard-rock extravaganza that propels them from emulators to inheritors of a rich legacy. [May 2021, p.27]

Showcases an undeniably more varied sonic palette, even if that just means there are more classic bands that its 12 songs remind you of. [May 2021, p.84]

On their second studio effort, they step out of the shadow of their influences, carving a sound of their own. Where they go from here is anyone’s guess.

Fortunately, with The Battle at Garden's Gate, they've earned more ground by delivering an album that's far more confident, earning the rock schlock with larger compositions that feel more grandiose.

They are at their best on their more epic material, particularly Broken Bells and eight-minute closer The Weight of Dreams, which moves up through the gears from an acoustic intro to a brilliantly overblown Jake Kiszka guitar solo. Elsewhere, however, the material is more pedestrian, and the quieter moments don’t always sit well with Josh’s vocals (default, indeed, only setting: a histrionic screech).

More Geddy Lee than Robert Plant, Josh Kiszka commands attention then alienates; his wail is the weak link in a group who is getting better at their period-accurate cosplay.

He and his bandmates have grasped the flaming torch of '70s hard-rock pomp - but how to make it their own? [May 2021, p.82]

While Greta Van Fleet excel at erecting houses of the retro-rock holy, they struggle a bit at the basics - like memorable songwriting, and especially lyrics. [Apr 2021, p.72]

Where Anthem positioned Greta Van Fleet as an overqualified cover band in gestation, Battle gives brief glimpses of potential for a collective determined to graduate from Guitar Hero savants. What's hindered Greta Van Fleet's attempts at individualism is their penchant for thrash and bombast.

Hemmed in by their own ambitions, ‘The Battle At Heaven’s Gate’ is an oddly contradictory experience, one that finds Greta Van Fleet truckin’ on up a one way street.

There is entirely nothing new about the proceedings on The Battle at Garden’s Gate. And, at over an hour’s running time, what’s contained here is much too long, particularly given the slog of the final third of the album.

‘The Battle at Garden’s Gate’ is a mixed bag of heavy metaphor and lazy observation.