DIAMOND HEAD Guitarist Says He Is 'Fine' With GRETA VAN FLEET Sounding 'A Bit Like LED ZEPPELIN'

DIAMOND HEAD guitarist Brian Tatler has once again 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 Shawn Sixx from the "Sixx Strings" podcast on WAAF, Tatler was asked for his opinion of GRETA VAN FLEET.

"Well, the ZEPPELIN market is huge," he said (hear audio below). "So, if ZEPPELIN have done — I don't know — two hundred and fifty million records, and one percent buy a copy of GRETA VAN FLEET, they'll have done pretty good.

"But I think the fuss about GRETA VAN FLEET… I mean, I've never seen a band hyped as much as GRETA VAN FLEET," he continued. "But there's hundreds of thousands of bands that sound like METALLICA or IRON MAIDEN or BLACK SABBATH, I think, and yet the minute a band comes along that sounds like ZEPPELIN, everybody loses their mind and goes, 'Oh my God! They're copying LED ZEPPELIN,' as though you can't do that; it's hallowed turf. Don't step on their territory. I just think, 'Okay. Great. Let's have a band that sounds a bit like ZEPPELIN or been influenced by ZEPPELIN.' It's fine for me.

"I mean, the singer sounds a bit like Robert Plant. He probably can't even help that," Brian added. "It's his range. He's a good singer. Nothing wrong with it.

"I don't know why everybody has gone crazy just because they sound a bit like ZEPPELIN."

According to Brian, no band's music is truly unique. "It all comes from somewhere," he said. "Nothing is completely original. You may not know where it comes from or be able to spot the influence, but I think everything I do, I can trace to something: 'This is a bit like that,' 'That's a bit like that.' And most people go, 'Oh, I didn't realize.' But that's the way it is. Music kind of evolves. You hear bits and bobs from other bands and artists, and then you kind of shape them into your way. The mix of each member of a band is what makes that band unique — the four or five members. That's, I think, what gives a band an originality. But they're all getting their ideas from other people. They don't come from God or the sky — it comes from other bands… It's kind of all a bit second-hand anyways. You could trace it back to the blues and rock. It's what you do with it. We've all got the same notes, the same fingers, the same brain."

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, 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".

DIAMOND HEAD's new album, "The Coffin Train", was released on May 24 via Silver Lining Music.