Anvil! The Story of Anvil – Review

We have all heard about the horrors of the music industry, an industry in shambles. You can try to blame downloading, but we all know the villain in this story. It’s the damn CEO’s of record labels who decide what we listen to and don’t listen to. There have been many victims to this.  Hell, a friend of mine had to call his band Venaculas, and quit after 8 years of being one of the more popular Midwest metal acts around. Why? Because record label CEO’s determined that their sound wasn’t relevant in today’s musical landscape and that was that for him. He gave his all to the band, and they quickly rose to the top. When they opened for Sevendust, I couldn’t tell who the crowd was more excited to see, them or Sevendust. We’ve all got our memories of their live shows and their CDs, but the members have now gone onto “normal” jobs. Regadless, of if it was their time or not, it was hasty decided by some corporate big-wig without a clue, because the Midwest loved Venaculas. Sad.

The boulevard of broken dreams indeed.

This brings me to Anvil, the band documented here in Anvil! The Story of Anvil, perhaps one of the most influential 80′s metal acts around, yet have you heard of them? Anvil’s use of guitar work influenced future acts like Metallica, Motorhead, and Slayer, yet those bands went on to be huge in the metal world, and Anvil faded into obscurity. But the members of Anvil haven’t faded away into meaningless jobs yet (although they still do those to provide for their families), as they still are together nearly 30 years later.

The film is a pure rock documentary, and as such, it apeals to a niche audience, but despite your love or distaste for hair metal, wacky clothes, or big loud choruses, director Sacha Gervasi captures a true underdog spirit here that transcends anything niche about it. Using interviews with the family members, fans, and industry colleagues, Gervasi shows the undying determination of Steve “Lips” Kudlow, the lead vocalist for Anvil and drummer, Robb Reiner. The film picks up right around when Anvil gets signed to a European tour and follows their pitfalls. How many more hard-knocks can these guys take? Even one family member candidly admits they should just hang it up. I don’t deny a degree of film making manipulation here or there, but it doesn’t feel staged like a reality show, because of the real drama and struggle behind it all.

Some of the film that I wish we had more of is the interviews with fellow musicians who admired Anvil, like Lars Ulrich (drummer from Metallica), Scott Ian (guitarist from Anthrax), Tom Araya (vocalist from Slayer), and Lemmy (vocalist from Motorhead). They all claim how influential Anvil was on their careers and how Anvil got a bad break, never making it big. I wanted more of this story from their perspectives.  Why was Anvil influential to Metallica and Slayer, and what do they think were the reasons for Anvil’s fall into obscurity rather than popularity? The film answers the latter question, or at least you might draw your own conclusions, but as a fan of the modern metal scene, I was curious to see how Anvil inspired the bands that inspired bands I currently listen too. Nobody loves their bands and the music more than metal heads, a there are plenty of great stories within the main story of Anvil, one being the fact that their fans are the rock that keep them in the game.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil is a rock documentary that all musicians and metal heads should see and love. But within the archival footage of Anvil at their peak and heartfelt stories of woe, despair, and dreams, lies a true underdog story, akin to Rocky that is emotional and inspiring all the same. It’s a love ode to passion and a dream, rare ideas that are sometimes quickly let go. After this film, you’ll know Anvil and will seek their CDs out, eventually skipping past The Scorpions and Anthrax on your iPod to rock out to some real “metal on metal”.

Keep on rockin’/Keep on rockin’/To this metal tonight…

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