Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Anvil: The Story Of Anvil

We finally watched Anvil: The Story Of Anvil last week.

Anvil is a seminal heavy metal band that enoyed a brief burst of fame with their album "Metal On Metal" in the early 1980s. They influenced everyone in that genre, basically, but their influence never translated into commercial success.

Incredibly, they kept recording, and they've been releasing records in virtual obscurity for the last twenty-five years, still trying to make it back into the spotlight.

So a former roadie made a documentary about them.

If you've been hearing that this is the real-life version of Spinal Tap, it's true. This is absolutely Spinal Tap in the real world, and it's hilarious. I cannot overstate how much you'll enjoy this movie if you enjoyed ST.

Since it's about real people, though, it's a more human film. It's much more poignant to see a real-life Don Quixote with a guitar. And the fellows in the band are utterly likable, which makes their struggle that much more compelling.

This is a film about being married to rock or roll, for better or for worse. It's one of the best music documentaries I've ever seen.

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