The Battle at Garden's Gate

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 Battle at Garden's Gate
Studio album by Greta Van Fleet
Released	April 16, 2021
Recorded	2019–2020
Studio	Henson Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California) No Expectations Studios (Los Angeles, California)
Length	63:32
Label	Lava Republic
Producer	Greg Kurstin
Greta Van Fleet chronology
Anthem of the Peaceful Army (2018) The Battle at Garden's Gate (2021) Starcatcher (2023)
Singles from The Battle at Garden's Gate
"My Way, Soon" Released: October 9, 2020 "Age of Machine" Released: December 4, 2020 "Heat Above" Released: February 10, 2021 "Broken Bells" Released: March 19, 2021 "Built by Nations" Released: April 16, 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]

Background and recording

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]

Themes and composition

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]

Release and promotion

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]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	64/100[15]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[16]
Classic Rock	[17]
Consequence of Sound	B[18]
Exclaim!	7/10[19]
Kerrang!	4/5[20]
NME	[21]
The Observer	[22]
PopMatters	3/10[23]
Rolling Stone	[24]
Sputnikmusic	4.0/5[25]

The album was featured in multiple "Most Anticipated Albums of 2021" lists, including from publications Rolling Stone,^[26] Vulture,^[27] and Ultimate Classic Rock.^[28]

The guitar solo of "Age of Machine" was elected by Guitar World's readers as the best of 2021.^[29]

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.^[30]

The album was also named the 2022 Clio Music Bronze award winner.^[31]

Track listing

The Battle at Garden's Gate track listing^[32]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Heat Above"	5:40
2.	"My Way, Soon"	4:15
3.	"Broken Bells"	5:50
4.	"Built by Nations"	3:58
5.	"Age of Machine"	6:53
6.	"Tears of Rain"	3:50
7.	"Stardust Chords"	4:58
8.	"Light My Love"	4:30
9.	"Caravel"	4:55
10.	"The Barbarians"	5:20
11.	"Trip the Light Fantastic"	4:33
12.	"The Weight of Dreams"	8:51
Total length:		63:33

Japanese edition bonus tracks ^[33][34]

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Heat Above" (Live version)	5:48
14.	"Stardust Chords" (Live version)	5:22
Total length:		74:49

Personnel

Greta Van Fleet

• Joshua Kiszka – vocals, background vocals
• Jacob Kiszka – guitar, backing vocals
• Samuel Kiszka – bass, keyboards, background vocals
• Daniel Wagner – drums, background vocals

Additional musicians

• Jacob Braun – cello (1, 3, 7, 8, 12)
• Alma Fernandez – viola (1, 3, 7, 8, 12)
• Charlie Bisharat – violin (1, 3, 7, 8, 12)
• Songa Lee – violin (1, 3, 7, 8, 12)

Technical

• Greg Kurstin – production, engineering
• Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing
• Julian Burg – engineering
• Alex Pasco – engineering
• Matt Wolach – mixing assistance
• Matt Tuggle – recording assistance (1–8, 11, 12)
• Peter Luretig – recording assistance (1–8, 11, 12)
• Brian Rajaratnam – recording assistance (1–8, 11, 12)

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for The Battle at Garden's Gate Chart (2021) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[35] 42 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[36] 2 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[37] 13 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[38] 1 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[39] 11 Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[40] 91 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[41] 16 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[42] 14 French Albums (SNEP)[43] 29 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[44] 3 Irish Albums (IRMA)[45] 62 Italian Albums (FIMI)[46] 6 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[47] 39 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[48] 30 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[49] 8 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[50] 15 Scottish Albums (OCC)[51] 2 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[52] 19 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[53] 11 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[54] 3 UK Albums (OCC)[55] 8 UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[56] 2 US Billboard 200[57] 7 US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[58] 1 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[59] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for The Battle at Garden's Gate Chart (2021) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[60] 83 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[61] 80 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[62] 54

References

1. Reilly, Nick (December 4, 2020). "Greta Van Fleet announce new album 'The Battle At Garden's Gate'". NME. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
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3. "Greta van Fleet Debuts at No. 1 on Top Rock Albums Chart with 'The Battle at Garden's Gate'". Billboard. 28 April 2021.
4. "Greta Van Fleet Promise New Music In 2019, Talk Dream Grammy Collaboration". Billboard.
5. "Greta Van Fleet: Fans can "definitely expect" another new album in 2019". January 29, 2019.
6. "Greta Van Fleet eye early 2020 release for new album". Consequence of Sound. November 29, 2019.
7. "Greta Van Fleet Announce New LP 'The Battle at Garden's Gate', Share 'Age of Machine' Single". Spin. December 4, 2020.
8. COS2
9. "Greta Van Fleet Announce New Album 'The Battle at Garden's Gate'". Ultimate Classic Rock. 4 December 2020.
10. "Greta Van Fleet Explain Sonic Change on Upcoming Album". Loudwire. 18 December 2020.
11. Ehrlich, Brenna (December 4, 2020). "Greta Van Fleet on the Cosmic Journey to Their Upcoming Album, 'The Battle at Garden's Gate'". Rolling Stone.
12. Blistein, Jon (December 9, 2020). "Greta Van Fleet Rip Through New Song 'My Way, Soon' on 'Colbert'". Rolling Stone.
13. December 2020, Michael Astley-Brown 04 (4 December 2020). "Greta Van Fleet announce new album, The Battle at Garden's Gate". Guitar World.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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15. "Reviews and Tracks for The Battle at Garden's Gate by Greta Van Fleet". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
16. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (April 16, 2021). "Greta Van Fleet – The Battle at Garden's Gate review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
17. Sharp, Johnny (April 16, 2021). "Review: Greta Van Fleet Come Into Their Own During The Battle at Garden's Gate". Retrieved April 21, 2021.
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19. Hughes, Josiah (April 14, 2021). "Greta Van Fleet's '70s Rock Cosplay Is Pretty Damn Sick on 'The Battle at Garden's Gate'". Retrieved April 21, 2021.
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26. Vozick-Levinson, Jonathan Bernstein, Jon Blistein, David Browne, Jon Dolan, Patrick Doyle, Brenna Ehrlich, Andrew Firriolo, Andy Greene, Kory Grow, Samantha Hissong, Joseph Hudak, Jeff Ihaza, Angie Martoccio, Jerry Portwood, Isabela Raygoza, Claire Shaffer, Hank Shteamer, Simon; Bernstein, Jonathan; Blistein, Jon; Browne, David; Dolan, Jon; Doyle, Patrick; Ehrlich, Brenna; Firriolo, Andrew; Greene, Andy; Grow, Kory; Hissong, Samantha; Hudak, Joseph; Ihaza, Jeff; Martoccio, Angie; Portwood, Jerry; Raygoza, Isabela; Shaffer, Claire; Shteamer, Hank; Vozick-Levinson, Simon (January 13, 2021). "54 Most Anticipated Albums of 2021". Rolling Stone.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
27. Sanchez, Justin Curto, Gabrielle (January 7, 2021). "28 Albums We Can't Wait to Hear in 2021". Vulture.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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