Metal on Metal

Anvil is a band that most metalheads are probably familiar with. They are known as one of the bands that had a hand in helping create thrash metal, as well as for having a somewhat popular documentary that was made about them. While at first glance, Anvil may seem no different than any other Canadian heavy metal band such as Lee Aaron or Thor, but once you give them a listen you can definitely see where later Canadian thrashers like Razor and Annihilator took their influences from.

While likely taking some influence from earlier Canadian hard rock bands like Rush, Triumph, and Moxy, Anvil manages to take the sounds of these bands and make them heavier and faster. The music on this album is rather heavy for 1982, and also very fast at times. The songs "Mothra", "Jackhammer", and "666" are all faster paced songs with pulverising, proto-thrash style drumming. The musicianship is very good with all of the songs being well crafted. The instrumental "March Of The Crabs" does a good job of showcasing their skills. Lips is also a pretty good singer. He doesn't have a ton of range, but has a good, mid-range voice. The only thing here I can really do without is a large amount of the subject matter, which often is just about love, sex, and relationships. This is particularly evident in songs like "Stop Me" and "Tease Me, Please Me". While these songs sound okay, the lyrics are very cringy and kind of embarrassing. The album art is rather eye-catching, with a buzzsaw cutting into an anvil and creating sparks. The production here is pretty good too, it's pretty clean sounding.

Anvil has been around for a very long time, but has only really in recent years begun to really gain recognition for what they did, largely thanks to their documentary. I'm happy for them as they are an often overlooked pioneer, particularly for the thrash metal genre. If you are interested in the roots of thrash metal, interested in the Canadian heavy metal scene, or just want to find a good album you haven't heard yet, then I suggest you give this a listen.