When the documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil hit film
festivals and theaters last year, the tale of the luckless but
persistent Canadian metal band captured peoples’ imaginations. There
were inevitable comparisons to Spinal Tap, but the music on This Is
Thirteen, the album whose creation was shown in the film,
demonstrates there was nothing parodic about this band and that it was
indeed just bad luck that kept it from being as successful as some of
its peers and former co-headliners. The album’s 13 tracks, plus the
bonus track “Thumb Hang,” explode with aggressive metal power:
galloping riffs, thundering drums, squealing guitar leads, thick unison
harmonies and band founder Steve “Lips” Kudlow’s confident and
occasionally virtuoso lead vocals, all shown off to good effect by the
work of veteran metal producer Chris Tsangarides.
Sure, if you listened to a lot of ’80s metal, you’ve heard most of
the musical moves here — but if you loved them then, you’ll love
them now. “Burning Bridges” has stampede momentum, picking up speed and
density in a flurry of notes before trailing off. “Game Over” and
“Should A Could A Would A” are classic metal stompers driven by
chugging riffs, while “Flying Blind” flies on an epic melody, layered
vocals and sweeping riffs with stop-and-start accents. “Big Business”
and “Thumb Hang” change things up with slower pacing and, in the case
of the latter, an intense, lumbering heaviness. These guys aren’t
reinventing the wheel, but they demonstrate that, after 30 years, they
drive the vehicle like pros. — Anastasia
Pantsios
This article appears in Sep 16-22, 2009.
