By DJ Monk
There are certain bands from whom you know exactly what to expect before you slip their latest album onto your deathdeck. AC/DC, Motörhead, Status Quo, ZZ Top… they haven’t tended to stray too far from the musical formula which established their reputations. You can, of course, add Anvil to that illustrious list: they have been delivering their particular brand of straightforward, no nonsense, balls to the wall heavy fuckin’ metal for more than three decades now – and, this, their 18th album, is absolutely no exception to the rule which they have set themselves.
Now into their fifth decade, Messrs Kudlow, Reiner and Robertson are not about to start pandering to anyone, not least of all themselves, never mind the so-called music industry and its pen-pushing bigwigs. But, then, doing what they do has got them to the fortunate position in which they find themselves today – that of doing exactly what they want and playing the heavy metal music that they want to play, without compromise or regret. They expound virtues such as endurance, unconditional commitment and a thoroughly down-to-earth attitude, with every fibre of their being and every note of every song they either lay down in the studio or play live.
So, it should come as no surprise that ‘Legal At Last’ is, by and large, another collection of characteristic Anvil anthems, with trademark alliterative titles such as the opening title track, follow-up ‘Nabbed In Nebraska’ and the behaviour-challenging ‘Plastic In Paradise’, which, alongside the earlier duotych of ‘Chemtrails’ and ‘Gasoline’, once again proves that, amidst all the inanity and insanity for which they are known, the trio are not afraid to use their uncompromising brand of heavy metal to address serious issues of global importance.
Anvil deliver exactly what their name suggests – hammering, pounding heavy metal that may be formulaic but is honest, passionate and, yes, uncompromising. It’s metal at its most basic and simplistic level – but, in a genre which often overcomplicates itself, with guitarists cramming in as many notes per millisecond as they can and bombast almost de rigeur, it is sometimes good to strip it back to its basics, with honest-to-goodness, unadulterated riffs that get you headbanging involuntarily and remembering why you fell in love with this music in the first place… And, that’s just what Anvil do – and more power to their collective elbows \m/
- ‘Legal At Last’ is released next Friday (14 February). You can get your copy HERE.
- Anvil tour in March:
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