Friday
Mar132015
Anvil Releases New Video
Friday, March 13, 2015 at 12:01AM
Anvil has a new video out, which was a surprise to me. It's for the track "Hope In Hell." I understand Anvil's place in metal, but they were never one of my top bands. What do you think?
Reader Comments (11)
For a reality check on the importance of Anvil acknowledged above, one only needs to watch the now Classic documentary about them, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil". The director also footed the bill for the only time a band (not coincidentally, Anvil) played live on "That Metal Show", easily the best moment of that charade which claims to be a show.
Long Live Anvil! REAL Metal!
That documentary was a blessing and a curse. It exposed them to a larger populace. It showed the warm reception they received, the grit they retained, and the resolve they had to crack back into the "somewhat" big-time again. But, like all documentaries (_Searching for Sugar Man_ and the Pentagram-focused _Last Days Here_ come to mind), it also exposed their weaknesses. That reception was a very niche-based one, the resolve was counter-balanced by those that could spin it and push it in the right direction, and the crack they made faded (but didn't disappear) as the fickle fans faded into the sunset of the next cause célèbre.
In a world of ISIS and Boko Haram, Anvil seem slight. In the world of metal even, their dildo solos and repetitive songs seem fay. While people cheer their pluck, and admire their optimism (oysterboy captures it perfectly), there are a large sub-set of their fans who are newer and more passionate only by watching the celluloid roll across the screen . . . the counter-weight to "Some Kind of Monster." The documentary unleashed the best kind of response even as it engendered the worst sort of question: do I love the idea of this band more than I do the band itself?
For me the answer is clear: I like the idea. As an American, it is written into my DNA to cheer for the underdog, even as writing that embraces a cliche. Metal fans, in particular, root for that same totem, raising the "never were" to the status of idols even while relishing some of the same mojo for the band that they love(d) that has fallen on hard(er) times. Amidst this push and pull, people topple established icons and raise questionable relics.
Anvil sit, to my mind, squarely in the middle of that struggle. Counting them out is cruel. Counting them among the best is questionable. Counting them as a personal favorite, or a snapshot of what was, for countless bands, seems practical.
I hope they sell a boatload of albums, even if it is based on a nostalgia for the past that is as fantastical as their present fan-base. I also hope that those far better than me (in terms of passion and finance), continue to remember Anvil as this era of celebrity continues its decline.
Diamond Head, anyone? Or am I evil for even suggesting a comparison? Oh wait, that was too rhetorical. They are the soundtrack to my life, even if they aren't the band. You get my point.
"Am I Evil" is indeed a great track, theirs being the original version that towers over the boring and antiseptic cover by Metallicrap...
But the real gem in the Diamond Head cannon is "Sweet & Innocent", a song any Glam Metal band with it's salt could absolutely nail!