“Marching across the land is a peaceful army joining the band. Walking hand in hand to an anthem loudly sung where they stand.” 

The Battle at Gardens Gate, Grammy-winning band Greta Van Fleet’s sophomore album, is one of the best albums I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. In general, Greta Van Fleet may be my favorite band ever. Their philosophies of the importance of love and unity speak to me on a whole different level.

In the beginning, it was just a dream by guitarist Jake Kiszka to be in a world famous rock-n-roll band. In high school, he decided to convince his twin brother, Josh Kiszka, to sing, his younger brother, Sam Kiszka, to play bass and keys, and a friend, Kyle Hauck, to play drums in his new band, Greta Van Fleet, named after a fellow local of Frankenmuth, Michigan. Hauck eventually was replaced by current drummer Danny Wagner.

They released the double EP, From the Fires, in 2017. The EP included songs such as Black Smoke Rising, Flower Power, Highway Tune, and Talk on the Street. They eventually won “Best Rock Album” at the 2018 Grammys. They also released their first full length album, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, in 2018. The album included songs such as Age of Man, When the Curtain Falls, Mountain of the Sun, and Anthem.

Two years later, they went back into the studio to work on their sophomore album. The end result ended up being not just their finest work yet, but perhaps one of the most perfectly crafted albums of the 21st Century, The Battle at Gardens Gate.

“We do not fight for war, but to save the lives of those who do so.” 

The album opens with Heat Above, and we are instantly drawn in by Sam’s beautiful organ intro and slowly launched into a powerhouse of a song about the meaning of life. The lyrics about gathering together to sing songs of peace and love echo alongside the beautifully crafted instrumentation and blend in an utterly perfect manner. 

Two tracks later, we are told about a tale of hope for a future yet to come, Broken Bells. We are swept in by Jake’s melancholic mix of acoustic and clean electric guitar that strikes a longing feeling in the listener’s mind. Josh mimics the melody of Jake’s guitar while we slowly rise to a chorus filled with a desperate want for change.

“Though I believe that sun still shines, and I believe there comes a time when out of silence we will sing, and even broken bells will ring.” 

Near the midpoint of the song, we take a turn to Jake, Sam, and Danny as they take us to a swelling climax. That payoff is one of the most soul-filled guitar solos of the 21st Century. Jake is given time to take us on a journey down the flowing river of the mind, his Wah-Pedal being his oar. 

The hard rock anthem, Built by Nations, may be Greta’s heaviest song to date. It grabs your attention with Jake’s simple but effective riff that feels like a smack across the face. Josh wails out a bittersweet story of a soldier going into battle during a gut-wrenching war, while Danny plays some utterly bone-rattling fills. This is without a doubt their most classic rock-esque track on the album.

Sorrow. There is not another word in the English language that describes the track Tears of Rain better. Sam’s piano, Jake’s acoustic guitar, and Josh’s delicate voice are all we’re given to start a tale of a civilization begging the gods for “Just a little bit of rain from an empty sky,” during a devastating drought. We end Tears of Rain, and side-b with the sounds of thunder echoing through your mind.

“Your mind is a stream of colors, extending beyond our sky. A land of infinite wonders, a billion lightyears from here now.” 

 Love and relationships in general have been that main topic of many songs throughout history. However, Greta’s Light My Love may be one of the most effective ones out there. It can rival Hozier’s Francesca, The Beatles And I Love Her, and Fleetwood Mac’s Everywhere. Sam’s beautiful piano part throughout this song provides a nice and reassuring layer to the mix. While the word ‘love’ has been tossed around in music recently, it feels as though the true feeling of love has been lost in the sound, but this song is a breath of fresh air with its feeling of unconditional and true love.

“Bow with your face to the sky. We are the movement.” 

Caravel holds a rebellious message inside. The name, meaning a small, fast sailing ship, along with the lyrics signify that this is both a story of rebellion and a crew sailing the seas, presumably pirates. This thought is driven further by the lines “Sail to the end of the world. For death or glory.” Near the end of the song, we move away from the heavier and gritty feeling, and are met with Josh singing the chorus again, but this time, with orchestral instruments that create a gripping atmosphere.

George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord, The Beatles Across The Universe, Blue Oyster Cult’s Don’t Fear The Reaper— what do these songs have in common? They all deal with spirituality in some form or another. Trip The Light Fantastic conveys the message that we are all one, but not just us humans. Everything is one. We are one with the land, the sea, the sky, the stars, everything. Jake experiments with a mellotron guitar pedal that makes your guitar sound like, well, a mellotron. They deal with trying to find out more and more about not only the universe but also themselves in this song.

People tend to enjoy a thunderous and large scale ending to larger-than-life projects like this, and Greta did not disappoint. 

“Gold mines, melting men in the sunshine. Spoiled wine tastes so sweet, we have gone blind.”

The Weight Of Dreams is the final track on this album. It deals with the negative effects of capitalism on a society. We start this track with Jake playing descending arpeggios; the instrumentation of this song was used in a previous track they used to perform live called Black Flag Exposition, which eventually became The Weight Of Dreams. Explosive drum fills, spine tapping guitar licks, a brain shaking bassline, and a sorrowful voice give us the almost nine-minute epic that is this song. The journey this song takes you on is nothing short of breathtaking. 

The album was met with enormous love and acclaim by their fanbase, and they did two tours just for this album, ‘Strange Horizons’ and ‘Dreams In Gold’. They eventually released their next album Starcatcher in July  2023, featuring tracks such as Meeting The Master, The Archer, Fate of the Faithful, and Sacred the Thread. It was met with not as much love as ‘TBAGG’, but it was nominated for rock album of the year. Their world tour for Starcatcher was their best tour to date.

Today, Jake has formed a new band with Ida Mae’s guitarist Chris Turpin, named Mirador. They opened for Greta Van Fleet during a few shows during the ‘Starcatcher World Tour’. They will be touring come May, with music yet to be released, but what’s going on with Greta?  Despite Jake’s new band, he is still a full-time member of Greta Van Fleet. We don’t know when we can expect new music by Greta, but whenever it does come, we can definitely expect a beautifully crafted piece of art.

“Where there is love, we must live on, and where there is not love, we must provide it,”- Josh Kiszka.