Movie Review: Anvil: The Story of Anvil (2009)

I grew up on metal. First it was Motley Crue and Iron Maiden. Then I got into Bands like Pantera and Sepultura. Most importantly, there was The Big 4: Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth and Metallica. They defined thrash metal. Just before them, there was a band called Anvil that set the tone for them all.

Buy Anvil: The Story of Anvil on DVD

In Toronto, Anvil singer Steve "Lips" Kudlow works his way through life at an average job while working toward an exceptional dream. At age fifty, he and his childhood friend and bandmate Robb Reiner are able to keep hope alive when a European woman promises to manage the band through a small European tour. This is an insight into what originally caused the band to remain mostly anonymous to music fans. Poor management and worse decisions kept the band down, but they never gave up.



From the little bit of music I heard in the movie, it sounds like Anvil could be a good metal band. The friendship between Lips and Robb is more of a brotherhood. They fight, but they make up very quickly. There's no way to watch this and not root for these guys. Lips may be aging, but you can see all the energy and hope of a fourteen-year-old boy in his eyes. He even looks much younger than he is. Anvil may never be huge, and their sound is that of the 80s and 90s, but I think they can find a new fanbase after this movie. They never stopped recording albums, and it doesn't look like they will any time soon.

Find Anvil's Albums on Amazon.com