![]() Still, they’ll always be something to say, says Kiszka, or something to consider in music. “Time changes many things, and we seem to change with time, so if this is constantly going to be the case, I don’t think there’s ever going to be an arrival, when you’ve come to the point where you’ve made it… whatever that means.” “Lyrics are one of those meditative things where I have to go inside of myself and ask the questions what’s important to me, what am I thinking, what am I feeling, what do I feel inclined to share,” he shares. Part of the fun of writing together is that everyone brings an idea, then they build around it, says Kiszka.įor Kiszka, lyrics often begin as more of a solitary revelation. “We have a much more complex understanding of songwriting than we did before, so that songs have really transformed, even lyrically.” He adds, “We’ve had so many years of writing and exploring and stretching, and growing, so I think we realized how to put these things together in a much different way,” says Kiszka. “Over time, they just sort of wash away and layer after layer gets ripped off,” says Kiszka, “and then it becomes this collage.” Referencing concert posters plastered on outdoor facades or music venues, washed away, worn and torn over time, that’s how Kiszka sees the music Greta Van Fleet have created. There’s this tapestry that’s going on, and it’s all strands of material that make up this really colorful thing.” “ Marching across the land is a peaceful army joining the band-those lyrics were borrowing from the previous album, which is what I’d like people to understand,” says Kiszka. Working around some older songs, Kiszka dusted off “Heat Above,” a song written five years earlier, which ultimately became the bridge between Anthem and Garden’s Gate. Typically writing on the road or wherever they could plant themselves, the band holed up in a cabin just outside of Nashville, where lengthier tracks, “Age of Machine” and “The Weight of Dreams,” a song the band had already been playing live for more than a year, were rearranged. There’s basically this parallel universe.” Kiszka adds, “It’s ancient, and it’s very modern but we’re toying with archetypes, and a lot of this album is an analogy. Then there’s war, and I think religion fits into that as well, and there’s industry, and with ‘Age of Machine,’ technology comes into the whole equation as well.” ‘There’s a lot of spiritualism in the form of religion and a higher power, or more of a conscious connection to a greater force in nature. “It’s very much about humanity and humanity’s struggle and search for salvation,” says Kiszka. Themes of war and a connectedness to nature all drift through Garden’s Gate, from the swelling “Broken Bells,” a song Sam Kiszka calls “what the fetter of society does to impact a pure and innocent soul,” and the removal of “the obligation of generational synthetic expectations,” or the heavier depth and riffs of “My Way, Soon” and “The Barbarians.” Opening on the anthemic “Heat Above,” Garden’s Gate offers weightier tracks “Age of Machine,” exploring on technology and its effect on humanity and the closer “The Weight of Dreams,” clocking in at nearly nine minutes. We are humans on a pale blue dot, and we have been given the limitless freedom to create upon all of this, and to be mindful of that, and not to destroy it.” “It’s some of the Eastern philosophy mixed with exploring the the human condition and breaking down barriers and I think underneath all of the facade that we have permeating our culture is that at the end of the day, we are free. Pulling from the cosmic and philosophical realms, for Kiszka, who grew up surrounded by music and books on philosophy-his father had a degree in the field-Alan Watts is an enduring inspiration, while also delving into more Aldous Huxley and other worldly connections for Garden’s Gate. ![]() “There are biblical elements to this whole thing, but I think it really did start with just sort of having such fascination with mythology, and we built this sort of Greta Van Fleet universe, which in a way acts as a platform for us to be able to communicate much more complex themes.” “Garden’s Gate is everything that remains in the natural world, and the conflict is what threatens the natural world,” says Kiszka. Garden’s Gate marches through war and peace, varied human conditions, and a connection to the natural world, while melding the band’s shared experiences, personal revelations, and more esoteric discoveries along the way. Recurrent comparisons to Led Zeppelin aside, Greta Van Fleet brashly don their myriad influences on their well-designed sleeves.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |