| The Battle at Garden's Gate | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Greta Van Fleet |
| Cover: | Greta Van Fleet - The Battle at Garden's Gate.png |
| Released: | April 16, 2021 |
| Recorded: | 2019–2020 |
| Studio: | Henson Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California) No Expectations Studios (Los Angeles, California) |
| Length: | 63:32 |
| Producer: | Greg Kurstin |
| Prev Title: | Anthem of the Peaceful Army |
| Prev Year: | 2018 |
| Next Title: | Starcatcher |
| Next Year: | 2023 |
The Battle at Garden's Gate is the second studio album by American rock band Greta Van Fleet, released on April 16, 2021.[1] The album's first single, "My Way, Soon", was released on October 9, 2020[2] and topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart in January 2021.
The album debuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200 and number 1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums and Top Rock Albums charts with first week sales of 43,000.[3]
The band commenced on writing material for a second studio album directly after finishing their debut album, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, which released in October 2018.[4] As early as January 2019, bassist Sam Kiszka indicated that the album was scheduled for sometime in 2019 as well.[5] Recording sessions occurred in a concentrated 2-month period in mid-2019.[6] The album was recorded with musical producer Greg Kurstin, who at the time had worked with Foo Fighters on Concrete and Gold and Medicine at Midnight.[7]
Early 2019 commentary from the band on the album noted that it would thematically have a "more worldly" feel than their prior work, inspired by the band's seeing the world through touring.[8] Additionally, they aimed to create "an evolution to their sound" after their prior album received a lot of commentary, both positive and negative, of being very similar to the work of other bands such as Led Zeppelin.[6] Upon the reveal of the album's name of The Battle at Garden's Gate in late 2020, they expanded on the themes, noting that it was "definitely a biblical reference" but that the album expanded well beyond that, into the idea of "ancient civilizations" and "parallel universe[s]".[9] The band explores the human experience, and how religion and war affect it.[7] [9] The album was described as more dark, cinematic, and complicated than their prior album.[10] Seeing dark instances of poverty and famine while touring inspired its more dire sound.[11]
The band released their first single from the album, "My Way, Soon", in October 2020.[7] [12] The song was debuted and performed live on December 8 on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, complete with costumes and stage setup similar to 1970s' music programs.[12] A second song, "Age of Machine", was released in December 2020.[13] In January, "My Way, Soon" topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, their fifth song to top the chart.[14]
The album was featured in multiple "Most Anticipated Albums of 2021" lists, including from publications Rolling Stone,[15] Vulture,[16] and Ultimate Classic Rock.[17]
The guitar solo of "Age of Machine" was elected by Guitar Worlds readers as the best of 2021.[18]
A reader's poll conducted by Total Guitar magazine ranked the guitar solo from the album's concluding 9-minute epic "The Weight of Dreams" as the greatest guitar solo of the 21st century.[19]
The album was also named the 2022 Clio Music Bronze award winner.[20]
Greta Van Fleet
Additional musicians
Technical
| Peak position | |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[21] | 14 |
|---|---|
| Position | ||
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] | 83 | |
|---|---|---|
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] | 80 | |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[24] | 54 |