Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Anvil! The Story of Anvil
These “demigods of Canadian metal” inspired groups that went on to fame and fortune, and filmmaker Sacha Gervasi puts that out front and center, kicking off the doc with quotes from Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, Guns N’ Roses’ Slash, Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister, Anthrax’s Scott Ian, and Slayer’s Tom Araya. But while Anvil! begins with talking heads discussing the band’s seminal album Metal on Metal, and footage of the guys living the dream at Super Rock ’84 in Japan, the film is really about middle-aged rockers who are still trying to make it big. It’s an emotionally rich, deep, and heartfelt explo ration of the often completely aver age lives of singer/guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner, who decided at 14 that they’d rock together forever. It’s probably not the first time you’ll see a band put together a demo, go on a low-rent tour of Europe (including a drug toss in fear of a police search), or borrow thousands from family to record a CD, but we bet it’ll be the first time you see 51-year-olds doing it. There may be moments when you almost feel sorry for them, but their passion and enthusiasm for metal, the artists who create it, and especially their loyal fans is a joy to watch. You’ll be thrilled that the guys are enjoy ing some post-doc success, including opening for AC/DC on their New York City–area dates.