''Black Smoke Rising'' is the debut EP by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Greta Van Fleet Greta Van Fleet is an American rock band from Frankenmuth, Michigan, formed in 2012. It consists of Kiszka brothers Josh (vocals), Jake (guitar) and Sam (bass guitar, keyboards); and Danny Wagner (drums). They were signed to Lava Records in M ...

. It was released digitally on April 21, 2017, and physically on August 7, 2017 by

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

. The single "

Highway Tune "Highway Tune" is a song by American rock band Greta Van Fleet. It was their first single from their debut EP ''Black Smoke Rising''. It topped the '' Billboard'' Mainstream Rock and Active Rock charts in September 2017. The song, and the rest ...

" topped the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

and

Active Rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

Rock stations in September 2017. A second single, "

Safari Song "Safari Song" is a song by American rock band Greta Van Fleet. It was their second single off of their EP ''Black Smoke Rising'', and their compilation EP '' From the Fires''. It topped the '' Billboard'' Mainstream Rock Songs chart in February 2 ...

", reached number two. The EP was later packed together with four more songs to create '' From the Fires'', a double EP released on November 10, 2017.

Background and release

The songs were recorded at Rustbelt Studios in

Royal Oak, Michigan Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Royal Oak is about north of Detroit's city limits. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 57,236. Royal Oak is located along th ...

in just three days in 2016. ''Black Smoke Rising'' was planned to be the first of three EPs that would make an album when all released. Its cover art was designed by Josh and Jake. The song "

" was released as a single on March 31, 2017, and topped the ''

and

Rock stations in September 2017. On April 18, 2017 the music video for the song "Highway Tune" was released exclusively on

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...

. On April 21, 2017 they were named

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

's new artist of the week. A second single, "

", was released in October 2017, and peaked at number 1 on the same chart in February 2018.

Themes and composition

Opening track "Highway Tune" is the first song the band had ever written, dating back to their original drummer. "Safari Song" is almost as old. Sam revealed that it originally had a "big percussion break with like bongos and congas, very kind of

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

, kind of South American style" that got cut from the version included on the EP. "Flower Power" was written around 2014, when Jake created the guitar riff. Sam explained "Jake just started playing two chords together and, you know, magic happened. I sat down on the organ and started playing the part and then Josh came out and sang the song all the way through, like it was already written." He also said he was imagining the end of "

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

" by

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

for its organ outro. Josh said to him it gave a San Francisco

Haight-Ashbury Haight-Ashbury () is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called The Haight and The Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of the counterculture ...

vibe and was written with a "folk influence and a nod to that era's sound." The title track was written in the studio during the recording of the other three. Its lyrics are a "reflection on the lessons of history and that man does not always learn from the lessons of history" and "in a more positive light, embodies a unity of humanity."

Reception

As of February 24, 2018, the EP has sold 70,000 units (including 47,000 in traditional album sales) in the U.S.

Track listing

Personnel

Greta Van Fleet * Joshua Kiszka – vocals * Jacob Kiszka – guitar, mandolin on "Flower Power" * Samuel Kiszka – bass, organ on "Flower Power" * Daniel Wagner – drums Production * Marlon Young – producer, mixer * Al Sutton – producer, mixer * Herschel Boone – vocals producer

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2017 debut EPs Greta Van Fleet albums EPs by American artists Republic Records EPs