Review of Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008) by Andrew B — 07 Dec 2015

Disclaimer: You do not have to be a fan of heavy metal to enjoy this movie. The story of the band Anvil is more than a music documentary about a band. It shows that when you have a dream and you have passion for something that you love no matter what the odds are against you, in your heart you never want that dream to die, you never want to give up.

Heavy Metal started becoming hugely popular throughout the 1980's. So many bands formed, some made it huge and continue to be wildly popular today and some fell into obscurity. Bands like Metallica and Slayer are still selling out venues in 2015.

I have to be totally honest, I am a huge metal fan and I had never heard of Anvil until this movie. It is just a really strange story surrounding this band. How they went from being really popular and selling a lot of albums and playing huge festivals around the world, to practically dropping off the face of the earth.

The band didn't break up, there wasn't an issue with one of the members so it is really hard to explain what happened. But what this documentary delivers is a group of guys who want to give it one more shot and think they still have it.

But in the end they really end up looking silly and rather ridiculous. If a band like Pantera where to somehow do a reunion tour they would be selling out arenas across the world without a doubt, but some bands just do not have that draw or staying power at all.

In this documentary they are back on a reunion tour playing tiny bars and in these tiny bars there are maybe 8 people watching. Some venues the owners are not even going to pay them. It is actually really sad to watch a bunch of guys who cant let go of their dream.

The entire film you are thinking, yeah man go for it, good for you ... but at the same time you are thinking, wow you guys really need to step back and realize its just over, and way over.