The Battle at Garden's Gate

"The Battle at Garden's Gate" is the second album by classic rockers Greta Van Fleet. I have been following these guys for a few years now, since early 2018, just before their debut album landed. I was lucky enough to see them live when they toured the album. I say lucky as I got tickets despite the tour selling out in minutes at a 2,500-capacity venue. But the actual experience, while overall was good, was let down a bit with frustratingly long guitar solos that seem to go nowhere and last what felt like an eternity.But one thing about Greta is that they are a young band and still growing and evolving. They got people talking from the minute the stepped on to the scene with their early EPs and as their debut came out, the snowball effect came into play and got people talking even more. With the release of Greta Van Fleet's second album the momentum has not stopped, and Greta don't back down, they just come out fighting harder. It's clear they still get annoyed at the comparisons they get to 70s rock bands like Led Zeppelin. They just want people to see them for creating something which gives them their own identity rather than people just thinking they are copycats.Personally, I think even with the last album they created their own identity. Yes, it's clear they have their influences but these are their tracks and it's difficult to say which tracks people think they are copying because I don't think there is any grounds for this. I think the reason is, is because it was so good and well received by many, it's easy for haters to come out and stamp all over them.But what have they done differently with this album? Well even from the face of it you can see what they have done. Their debut "Anthem of the Peaceful Army" is 11 tracks long coming in just under 50 minutes. This means the average track length is about 4 1/2 minutes. Now look at "The Battle at Garden's Gate" and its 12 songs long coming in at 1 hour 3 minutes. So, the average track time is 5 1/2 minutes. An average of 1 minute longer per track. This shows that they have tried to really push themselves more into creating longer more complex tracks. And on listening to the album, you really do hear this. It goes in all sorts of directions and you can really feel a step up in terms of quality compared to the first album and that's saying something as the first album was good.I would say that due to this there is not as many straight up, to the point rock songs which have had to have been dialled back due to being more adventurous. But the likes of "My Way, Soon" does fit that bill so they did have a track which is suited for single release. It was clear though from the first single that they released "Age of Machine" which sits at just under 7 minutes long where this album was going.My favourite tracks off the album are "Broken Bells" and "The Weight of Dreams". "Broken Bells" has I felt the vocals were particularly good on this track and it has some nice guitar parts. "The Weight of Dreams" closes out the album and is the "epic" track I have been waiting for from Greta Van Fleet. This track is 9 minutes long and has a sublime guitar solo. It's one of those that peaks and then just keeps peaking. The whole track is wonderful. I don't know what it is about longer tracks but I just find myself drawn to them and when they are done as good as this, I find myself completely encapsulated by them.Overall a great album. It has taken me time to really get into this one and I think there is still more to unearth as there is so much to it. But that is the great thing about it. The talent these boys possess is unreal and I feel they have reached new heights with this effort. The haters are probably going to grow but I think the fanbase will also grow too which is why more people will hate them. It was difficult enough to get tickets for their last tour but with the amount of material they have now I can see them stepping up to arenas quite comfortably. Let's just keep the guitar solos like they did on this record. :-DOne final note. I bought the CD for this and nice of them to put a bit of effort into it. The feel of it is great and the artwork inside is something I would be quite happy to hang on the wall.

They just get better and better. Blows away the talentless rubbish we’ve had to put up with for years

I loved the first two albums but this is above and beyond superb.Every song is well crafted and there are so many dimensions to this band that are becoming more and more fantastic .Considering they are a relatively young band they could GO down as one of the greats..At first listen ,I must admit I was surprised that there were no bangers which have given them( and say it as a compliment) comparisons with Zep.However on the second listen I got it.The songs are I think unique and definitely their own sound. By the third track I was hooked and it's a great album to listen to all the way through as it is an absolute journey.I would give it 10 /10 and highly recommend. The other two albums are fantastic also.There is hope for music yet

If you like Greta Van Fleet's music up to now, you will certainly enjoy this album as much as I am doing. An impressive follow on from their 1st album. I have been waiting for this release and it has been well worth that wait.

My headline says it all. This is one of those albums you can easily put on repeat and never tire of listening to it. To all those "they are a Led Zeppelin clone" naysayers : this sounds nothing like Led Zeppelin but is clearly Greta Van Fleet. Each track is musically rich with all the various instruments and distinct voice ;-) coming through.

Having read the five star reviews for this album and comparison's to the great Led Zeppelin , I thought I was going to in for a real treat. Well I am sorry to say that this is pretty mediocre stuff and there really is not much Led Zeppelin influence to my ears. Good rock music is so hard to find these days ,many of the older bands are coming to the end of their best years and are not really being replaced. Anyway back to this album you have a collection of pretty mediocre tunes with nothing special about any of them. No great guitar breaks or searing vocals or really outstanding drumming. I wonder if these 5 star reviews are put there by friends of the band ? I think that really I have been a bit generous with my 2 star rating as really there is not much here to get excited about. Lets hope that they come back with something with a little more guts to it the next time around :-]

First 4 songs are pretty banging before 6 middle of the road album fillers I would say. Track 11 is my favourite - very catchy and enjoyable tune that must be played loud - before the big finish of Track 12. If you saw them live end of 2019 then you’ll recognise it as the song No1 had heard before named ‘Black Flag Explosion’ on many set list reviews at the time with Jake’s belter of a solo and Josh’s crazy tambourine dancing. Yeah! That one. This a really good album. Better than their last effort IMO. Buy! And enjoy!!

Then you're in for a treat. Just get it bought. Can't say much more really. It's every bit as good as their previous offerings. If you've questioned whether these young lads could produce more of the same, then the answer is yes, in fact they have. It's just different enough to not be the same but similar enough not to be different. I just hope that all goes well for them for many many years to come so that one day we're sitting here reviewing music from new bands saying, yes but they were clearly influenced by GVF don't you think?