Greta Van Fleet’s debut album, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, has recently been the object of much attention due to one main reason: it sounds strangely similar to Led Zeppelin.

I am a firm believer in the idea that one does not need to reinvent the wheel to make great music. Some of the best albums come from artists who embody a genre and build upon its stylistic tropes to create fantastic work. However, in the case of Greta Van Fleet, it is no longer about embracing a style but rather about blatantly copying an entire sound.

One of the first times I heard about Greta Van Fleet was in the context of, “listen to this artist they sound like Led Zeppelin,” and of course, being likened to one of the greatest rock bands is cause for excitement. However, the novelty fades quickly and it becomes apparent that this striking similarity is not a cause for celebration. Greta Van Fleet seems to outright steal the sound, guitar riffs and vocal performances of this legendary band, which begs the question: why shouldn’t I just listen to Led Zeppelin?

The whole premise of this band borders on ridiculous — from the hippie clothes to the feather earrings they wear as they churn out one pseudo-profound love song after another. What becomes instantly apparent is that these guys have very little to say and their unoriginal attempts at rekindling the spark of 70s hard rock fall terribly flat.

On a different note, Anthem of the Peaceful Army is the band's most refined bit of work thus far. The production is smoother and each member has gotten better at playing their respective instruments. However, with this progress they seem to have ironed out the few quirks that gave them any kind of nuance. Nothing exemplifies this more than the song, When The Curtain Falls, which features Led Zeppelin’s iconic heavy guitar riffs and fuzzy bass. Even the vocalist Josh Kiszka is trying his hardest to copy Robert Plant’s vocals. On this track they are so indistinguishable from Led Zeppelin that one might actually believe that it is some long lost track from the classic band.

Recently there has been a mounting defence of the band which is based on the notion that it is not possible to make new music without drawing inspiration from the past. This is an entirely valid point as most artists start off by copying others and it is often seen as a key part of the creative process. The example that instantly comes to mind is Muse, whose sound was clearly influenced by Radiohead. However, even their debut album Showbiz, which featured similar production and vocals, could never be mistaken for a Radiohead record because of their unique punk rock inspired sound. Yet, there is no artistic evolution for Greta Van Fleet as they have taken a single artist and tried to copy everything that made them great. It all comes down to the simple notion that if an artist can be mistaken for their predecessors then they have not done enough to develop and create their own music.

It needs to be noted that Greta Van Fleet is not a small band making music out of their parents’ garage. They are a worldwide phenomenon who debuted at top three on the Billboard 200. The appeal is clear, as among the hundreds of new trap bangers there is finally a band playing what appears to be classic hard rock. Fueled by the winds of nostalgia for a bygone era, Greta Van Fleet will always have an audience even though they hardly deserve it.

To me, they are nothing more than a cover band dumbing down a sound of the past to appeal to a nostalgic modern audience. This album is only worth a listen for those who wonder how Led Zeppelin would sound if they had nothing meaningful to say and were, in general, bang average musicians.