If you were to look up the word "perseverance" in the almighty handbook of heavy metal, there may very well be a photo of Canadian metalists, Anvil. Since their 1981 debut, Hard N' Heavy, the group - which was co-founded by singer/guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner - has been listed by many as one of the creators of the thrash/speed metal genre (especially on such Chris Tsangarides-produced classics as 1982's Metal on Metal and 1983's Forged in Fire). Anvil has never stopped rocking, and with the arrival of the critically-acclaimed/surprise hit film, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" (directed by Sacha Gervasi), the group is back where they belong - at the forefront of heavy metal. Anvil has always been taken seriously by metalheads, including some very well known ones, who praise the band in the film.
Having issued a total of seventeen releases between 1981 and 2004, the group, that also includes bassist Glenn Five, reconnected with Tsangarides (Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest) for their thirteenth studio album, eighteenth release overall, This is Thirteen. The turbulent-yet-triumphant sessions were well-documented in the "Anvil!" film. "It differs in one vast sense - the production," explains Reiner. "‘This is Thirteen' was produced by Chris Tsangarides, who produced ‘Metal on Metal' and ‘Forged in Fire' - probably the most famous, classic Anvil albums.
As evidenced by such vintage Anvil-sounding ragers as "Feed the Greed," "American Refugee," and the title track, This is Thirteen is certainly the strongest Anvil release in a long time. Originally put out by the band themselves and sold through their website, the album is now seeing proper national distribution via CD (with "Thumb Hang" added as a bonus track) as well as a double gate-fold vinyl version (including two additional bonus tracks) through VH1 Classic Records. Additionally, due to the film's success, Anvil received an invite from AC/DC to open mammoth football stadium shows for the legendary Aussie rockers on their "Black Ice" tour, while a book about the group's career (which shares the same name as the movie) appeared as well. Add to it a DVD release of the movie in the Fall of 2009, and a new studio album that is already written and just needs to be recorded (titled Juggernaut of Justice), and it certainly appears as though Anvil is making the most out of their "second life."
http://www.anvilmetal.com/
