Greta Van Fleet Black Smoke Rising: An Album a Day

An Album a Day is posted 5 days a week, Monday-Friday

    Today we’re looking at a band with a very familiar sounding lead singer. The band is called Greta Van Fleet, they are a blues based hard rock band from Frankenmuth, Michigan. The band consists of three brothers, Sam, Jake and Josh Kiszka as well as drummer Danny Wagner. The band’s overall style is blues and folk based hard rock, with obvious classic rock influence from bands like AC/DC and Led Zeppelin.

    While they are a pretty good rock band in their own right, the thing that really sets them apart is lead singer Josh Kiszka’s vocals. When I say it’s obvious they are influenced by Led Zeppelin, I mean it; Josh sounds almost identical to Robert Plant. While there are plenty of singers who try to sound like Plant, or have a similar vocal range to him, Josh Kiszka sounds like he could actually be Robert Plant at times. The track Flower Power is particularly impressive as the whole band gets into a very Zeppeliny sound.

    So far they have only released one EP, entitled Black Smoke Rising so we’re going to look at those four tracks. The first song Highway Tune is driven by a southern blues guitar riff that is somewhere between classic rockers like the Allman Brothers and something newer like The Black Keys. This is probably the most modern sounding song on the EP, with Josh utilizing a rapid fire staccato singing style on this one. Another thing to note about this band is how huge the drums sound on every track, and unlike Imagine Dragons they sound like actual mic’d up drums and not samples.

On track 2, Safari Song  Josh starts sounding almost identical to Robert Plant and the music matches the classic rock delivery. The frantic guitar and basslines hold the song together while Wagner plays fills through the majority of the verses, dancing from one end of his kit to the next. These guys have nailed the sloppy and loose feel that Zeppelin had, which is in stark contrast to the tight and overly perfect music of today. The guitar solos on this EP have a primal energy to them as Jake Kiszka plays in a very loose way that fits the style of music perfectly and keeps the sloppy feel of the EP.

Next we have the dynamic Flower Power which is the most Led Zeppelin track on the EP, complete with mildly nonsensical fantasy lyrics. The use of organ and tambourine adds the folk element that they were missing and also adds an element of progression so that when the song exploded into a raw guitar solo it feels like a gut punch. Speaking of which, this solo is the best guitar moment on the album as it is sandwiched by two much softer parts and just rips the song to pieces. Jake Kiszka’s loose and raw soloing works the best on this track as it has all of the momentum and buildup of the song behind it.

The last track which is also the title track is the song that sounds the most like a classic rock inspired song and not like something that came out in the 70s. While the Led Zeppelin elements are still there, this song doesn’t sound like something Zeppelin would do. There is a certain twanginess to Josh’s vocals here that lends a bluegrass or country element to their sound. While the track itself might not be the best on the EP, I believe it is the one that best represents these guys own sound, aside from the classic rock bands they listen to.

To be clear, these guys aren’t a Zeppelin tribute band, if you want that go listen to SoZo. But there are a lot of similarities between their sound and Zeppelin’s, especially the lead vocals. I think this is a damn fine EP, and I can’t wait to hear their full album. It will be cool to see if they branch off and explore their own sound more or delve further into the classic rock sound. Either way, check these guys out.
GretaVanFleet.comAlbum on Google Play
Album on ITunes
Album on Amazon