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Anvil Tries for Lucky Thirteen |
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Written by HILARY LINNEWEH
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Tuesday, 06 October 2009 |
Until the beginning of this year, Canadian metal rockers Anvi l, were still making music but had practically fallen off the map, even from those who listen to heavy metal music. But when the well received documentary film Anvil: The Story of Anvil was released at the Sundance Film Festival, Anvil was thrust into the spotlight. The film showed the heart and soul of a band, who despite setbacks, continued to strive for the rock stardom they have been in search of since 1973. The film documents their fight to record their thirteenth album, This is Thirteen.
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Anvil
|  Entertainment
Art
"This is Thirteen"
(VH1 Classic Records)
Released October 6, 2009
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This is Thirteen is touted as Anvil’s comeback album and because the film makes you feel you are rooting for the underdog whose career has been stifled by big business, record company red tape, and a bit of bad luck, one’s sincere hope is this album could truly be a commercial success. Although you would love to say that lead singer Lips’ and guitarist Rob Reiner’s passion and heart for their music shown in the film could have buoyed this album, it falls flat. The title track This is Thirteen kicks off the album with a methodic driving beat and Lips doing his signature dramatically eery sound and making it solid effort. Just a few songs in, “Burning Bridges” makes an attempt at driving guitar riffs but the the song still seems a bit dragging, formulaic and lacks a lyrical hook. The tracks “Flying Blind” and “Room #9” pick up the pace once again and are an improvement with Reiner’s strong and convincing guitar solos and resurge of energy. Soon after is the track “Feed the Greed,” which aptly expresses Anvil’s attitude towards the business of the record industry. Although the sentiment might be warranted, the song is a bit isolating to the listener and there really wasn’t a hook that would make you listen to the song repeatedly. The next tracks “Big Business” and “Game Over” suffer from the same fate and the vocals don’t seem to be very tight and match the overall rhythm of the songs. It seems that many of the songs lack lyrics that are complex, that instead seem to be very repetitive and at times the tempo feels like it is slowly plotting forward.
As seen in the film, one can tell that Lips and Reiner’s sincere goal is to make quality heavy metal music which made this a difficult album to review. You can’t help but connect with this band on a human level and their level on sincerity. That is why it’s unfortunate to say this album could have been better. But I can’t help but wonder if what is lacking in the album, couldn’t be made up in person when the band performs the tracks live. Although this was a strong effort at a commercial studio album, I’m not sure the new album really captures the group you see and love in the documentary. I have a strong feeling they are a band who is meant to see perform live, with their showmanship and sincerity to make heavy metal music. This is Thirteen might not be Anvil’s best music to date, but there is no doubt this was their best effort and not their last album.
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bogus review
Written by Guest on 2009-10-09 02:12:46
Duh...Hilary, did you even watch the movie or listen to the CD before writing this article?? You write "lead singer Lips’ and guitarist Rob Reiner" but Lips is the lead singer AND guitarist and Reiner is the drummer.
Just one more person disrespecting this awesome band. That sucks. Anvil deserves better. Anyone into metal will dig this new album.
Signed,
new Anvil fan |
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