From the Fires explained

From the Fires
Type:ep
Artist:Greta Van Fleet
Cover:Greta Van Fleet From The Fires.jpeg
Recorded:2016–2017
Studio:Rustbelt Studios,
Royal Oak, Michigan
Length:32:11
Label:
Producer:
  • Marlon Young
  • Al Sutton
Prev Title:Black Smoke Rising
Prev Year:2017
Next Title:Anthem of the Peaceful Army
Next Year:2018

From the Fires is the second EP by American rock band Greta Van Fleet.[1] It was released on November 10, 2017 through Lava and Republic Records. From the Fires won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album at the 61st Grammy Awards.[2]

Background and release

From the Fires was first announced on October 25, 2017, to be released on November 10, 2017.[3] The release consists of eight songs; four being newly recorded by the band, four songs originally found from their EP, Black Smoke Rising.[4] [5]

Having chosen songs for Black Smoke Rising that would demonstrate their range and variety, the band felt that it was "simply just not finished." As a result, they compiled four more songs that they felt tied up loose ends for From the Fires.[6] Too busy to design the cover art like they did for Black Smoke Rising, they hired an artist for From the Fires and made suggestions.[7]

The album was released physically and digitally, the latter being available for a discount on iTunes if the account has already purchased Black Smoke Rising. The song "Highway Tune" topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock and Active Rock charts in 2017,[8] while "Safari Song" had peaked at number 1 on the same chart in February 2018.[9]

Themes and composition

Lyrically, all eight songs across this album and their EP all relate to the theme of basic humanity.[10] Specifically, vocalist Josh Kiszka explained that the album’s name and cover art were inspired by the band's camping trips of their childhood:

The album contains two covers; a cover of Sam Cooke's 1964 song "A Change Is Gonna Come", and Fairport Convention's 1968 song "Meet on the Ledge". The former was to show the band's soul influences and the latter to have a folk song. Josh and guitarist Jake had always wanted to cover "A Change Is Gonna Come", and felt that its political importance was relevant to today and therefore time to finally do it.[11] Herschel Boone and his wife recorded multiple chorus parts to give it the effect of a choir. From the Fires two original songs, "Edge of Darkness" and "Talk on the Street," were written about nine months before its release.[12] Jake briefly referred to the former as "pure rock and roll" and the latter as having a "catchy fun" element to it.[13]

Reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the EP received an average score of 64, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 4 reviews. As of August 30, 2019, the EP has sold 500,000 copies in the U.S., giving it a gold certification by the RIAA.[14]

Musically, the release was described as "Led Zeppelin for Generation Z",[15] an influence the band mentioned in the past, specifically Robert Plant's wailing vocals and Jimmy Page's guitar riffs.[16]

Personnel

Greta Van Fleet

Production

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2017–18)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 75
Italian Albums (FIMI)[18] 60
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[19] 4
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[20] 73

Year-end charts

Chart (2018)Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] 128
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22] 44
US Billboard 200[23] 152
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[24] 18

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Trivium Leads Hard Rock Albums Chart, Greta Van Fleet Debuts. Billboard.com. 19 November 2017.
  2. Web site: Greta Van Fleet Wins Best Rock Album For 'From The Fires' 2019 GRAMMYs. Grammys.com.
  3. Web site: GRETA VAN FLEET To Release 'From The Fires'. 25 October 2017. Blabbermouth.net. 19 November 2017.
  4. Web site: Greta Van Fleet Announce Double EP 'From the Fires'. Loudwire. 19 November 2017.
  5. Web site: Meet Alice Cooper–Approved Kids Bringing Riff Rock Back on the Charts. 13 November 2017. Revolvermag.com. 16 January 2018.
  6. Web site: INTERVIEW: Jake Kiszka and Danny Wagner of Greta Van Fleet. Go Venue Magazine. December 8, 2017. March 17, 2018.
  7. Web site: Interview: Jake Kiszka of GRETA VAN FLEET. AntiHero Magazine. December 17, 2017. March 17, 2018.
  8. Web site: Greta Van Fleet to release double EP 'From The Fires' in November. Axs.com. 19 November 2017.
  9. Web site: Greta Van Fleet Chart History. Billboard.com. 19 November 2017.
  10. Web site: Rising stars Greta Van Fleet announce From The Fires double EP. 26 October 2017. Teamrock.com. 19 November 2017.
  11. Web site: Interview: Jake Kiszka of Greta Van Fleet. Social Magazine. February 20, 2018. March 17, 2018.
  12. Web site: Greta Van Fleet Fronts Much Needed Hard Rock Revival (INTERVIEW). Glide Magazine. November 20, 2017. March 17, 2018.
  13. Web site: "As Brothers We Stand": An Interview with Greta Van Fleet. PopMatters. January 18, 2018. March 17, 2018.
  14. Greta Van Fleet Lands Second Straight Mainstream Rock Songs No. 1 with 'Safari Song'. .
  15. Web site: Greta Van Fleet Wants To Be Led Zeppelin For Generation Z. 7 November 2017. Uproxx.com. 19 November 2017.
  16. Web site: Greta Van Fleet Announce New EP, 'From the Fires'. Guitarworld.com. 19 November 2017.
  17. Web site: ARIA Chart Watch #485. auspOp. August 11, 2018. August 11, 2018. March 7, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220307123112/https://www.auspop.com.au/2018/8/aria-chart-watch-485/. dead.
  18. Web site: Album – Classifica settimanale WK 42 (dal 2018-10-12 al 2018-10-18). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Italian. October 20, 2018.
  19. Web site: NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart. Recorded Music NZ. March 5, 2018. March 2, 2018.
  20. Web site: Top 100 Albumes – Semana 43: del 19.10.2018 al 25.10.2018. Productores de Música de España. Spanish. October 31, 2018.
  21. Web site: Rapports Annuels 2018. Ultratop. August 1, 2020.
  22. Canadian Albums – Year-End 2018. Billboard. December 5, 2018.
  23. Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2018. Billboard. June 16, 2020.
  24. Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2018. Billboard. June 16, 2020.
  25. Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2019. Billboard. June 26, 2020.