Review of Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008) by Jérôme V — 22 Oct 2009

How many people remember Anvil? I, for example, happen to listen to their music only recently and I knew them by name because of and old friend, a metalhead who was in his teen when this Canadian band were at the top of their game. Allmusic name them the missing link between New Wave of british heavy metal and thrash metal; no small feats, if you ask me. Even today, classic album like â??Metal on Metalâ?? (God, this song groove so much!) and â??Forged in Fireâ?? manage to sound somewhat fresh and brutal. And when those two albums , which clearly sounds as a perfect mix of thrash and old power metal à la Helloween, were recorded a year before Metallica set out its first album.

This fine and often moving documentary begins in Tokyo when Anvil (in absolutely hilarious but typical 80s metal outfit!) were a top metal act playing in 1984 alongside Scorpions and Whitesnake. Interspersed here and there during their rendition of Metal on metal, we meet Lars Ulrich (Metallica), Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead), Kerry King (Slayer), Scott Ian (Anthrax) and Slash (Guns N Roses) telling us how great and influential Anvil were to them, praising their music as well as their technical talent. While every last one of them made it to the big times, Anvil, despite being active for 30 years, fall into the oblivion of collective memoryâ?¦.

Switch to present where we meet lead singer/guitarist Lips working for a catering business and still playing music in clubs with his old buddy drummer Robb Reiner. The two only remaining original members are in their 50s but I think you be hard press to find a young band as dedicated to their art as those two guys. From then on, the movie follow them in a disastrous tour in Europe (at one moment, Lips even have to threaten a patron to get his pay), playing before a hundred person maximum most of the times. After this tour (which they made while on vacation), they do their best to record an album with producer Chris Tsangarides, their 13th album (titled appropriately â??This is 13â??) and trying to sell it to record companiesâ?¦ which of course, they have much difficulties to do (just because they are old, as Lips tell us wiselyâ?¦ a lesson we should take seriously in our image-fascinated society). We get to meet the members of their families, wife, children, sisters, brothers: every last one of them is patiently, but sometimes bitterly, enduring the drive of Anvilâ??s main members Lips and Robb.

I think itâ??s too easy to dismiss this band as just a Spinal Tap. Watching â??Anvil â?? The Story of Anvilâ?? we are lead to respect the passion those guys put in their love of metal music, the dedication with which they are still at it despite the fact that they seems to be forgotten by almost everybody on Earth. This is not just a movie about heavy metal; this is an intimate and moving experience into the life of two guys who just wants to live their dreams of rock star. Hopefully (for us and for them!), the movie was filmed with great respect to the band (although, I must admit, at times I had difficulties not to think of Spinal Tap and my heart sankâ?¦ because Anvil is a better band than many you will hear on the radio right now)â?¦ and it have a happy ending of a sortâ?¦ (Japan clearly is a promised land for metalheads around the worldâ?¦). Will do a very fine double feature evening with the excellent â??Heavy metal in Baghdadâ??, another great documentary about music, passion and dedication in adversity.