JOE SATRIANI Defends GRETA VAN FLEET Over LED ZEPPELIN Comparisons: ‘Give Them A Break’

BLABBERMOUTH.NET

Joe Satriani has defended GRETA VAN FLEET over accusations that the Michigan rockers have ripped off LED ZEPPELIN. Despite the fact that GRETA VAN FLEET has managed to sell out shows all over the world, the four-piece has been criticized for channeling a sound uncannily similar to LED ZEPPELIN, with some music fans slamming singer Josh Kiszka for allegedly copy-and-pasting Robert Plant's vocal style. During a recent interview with Classic Rock, Joe offered his opinion of the young act. "Every time I put GRETA VAN FLEET on, someone, usually someone older, will say, 'Who are these guys ripping off LED ZEPPELIN?'" the legendary guitarist said. "Give them a break! There are bands a generation older than them who seem to be doing it for the money and fame, but to me these guys seem to love this music and they have a real spark." Satriani's latest comments echo those he made two years ago when he told NJArts.net: "I've been listening to this young band, GRETA VAN FLEET, and I'm really enjoying that exuberance that I'm hearing. When I first heard them, I sent their album to all my friends that were in my high-school band. We're still good friends and we stay in touch and, I swear, that's what we were trying to do when we were 15 years old. We were just trying to be like LED ZEPPELIN, BLACK SABBATH and THE [ROLLING] STONES, but these guys are really good at it. [Laughs] They have that same kind of... it just sounds like they love music and they love what they're doing, and yeah, I've been listening to that quite a bit." GRETA VAN FLEET's debut album, "Anthem Of The Peaceful Army", landed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart in July 2018 despite earning a lukewarm 53/100 score on review curation site Metacritic. In December 2018, GRETA VAN FLEET scored four Grammy Award nominations, one for each major rock category — "Best Rock Album", "Best Rock Song", "Best Rock Performance" — and a "Best New Artist" nod. They went on to win for "Best Rock Album" for their sophomore EP, "From The Fires".