Anvil : The Story Of Anvil

I am a diehard fan of metal, names such as Slayer, GNR, Metallica, Whitesnake, Scorpion, Motohead, King Diamond, Morbid Angel, Sepultura, Anthrax, Megadeth….(just naming a few!) are my favorites, but the name Anvil doesn’t appear in my metal’s list. As far as I could remember, I have heard the name Anvil before but never had the opportunity to listen even to one of its songs. Not to mention knowing about their origin and the the number of albums that they had produced.

I was introduced to the documentary which at first I thought was nothing special about it and should not be paid special attention to. Although it was some sort of a documentary of a rock band, I didn’t give much attention to it as I have watched a similar one, Some Kind Of Monster by Metallica before, and frankly speaking….it is not my favorite. And I expected that The Story of Anvil would be the same!

But one night, while surfing the net, I type the name Anvil and then what! I didn’t know that it was one of the best documentaries ever produced in 2009. Then that night, I decided to watch it although it was already midnight and the next day was a working day.

How should I start? Personally, I do find that this is the most sincere documentary that I have ever watched. It was a real reflection on the hardship of life. Frankly speaking, there was no one documentary before that could make my tears flow but this one did! This statement is not based on my high enthusiasm on metal but because of the human values features by it. Although some may find that Lips (guitar/singer) may somehow sound a little bit crazy for chasing the dream that has gone, but his determination, aspiration and effort are too enormous not to be mentioned and recognized. So far, I haven’t met anyone who is willing to fight for so many years to achieve his long lost dream. In Anvil’s case, 30 years. Many of us might quit after a few years, while the deeper inner self in me rings a period of months only!

I was touched with the group effort although some of their close relatives already closed their mind on any hope for the group’s success. Not to mention the music industry itself! And many thought that they forever would become only the town most favorite local band ever!

Just yesterday, I surfed the net looking for the group progress. And it seems that they are achieving and experiencing the kind of dream that they have so long longed-for. All in all, the 30 years of fighting and suffering finally paid off. Although this victory may come short, maybe in just two or three years, at least they have some taste of victory finally.

And that is life….sometimes it becomes hard on us eventhough we have tried our best. Sometimes it felt so unfair but …..whether we like it or not, we do not have 100% control on it. And it’s true, just like what Ian ‘ Lemmy ‘ Kilmister – MOTOHEAD said about success in the beginning of the documentary: “You have to be at the right place and at the right time”. And for ANVIL, at the moment, their right time and right place is nearly 30 years after their first beginning.

And whatever people views on the movie and the group itself; I certainly won’t forget the quotation made by Steve 'Lips' Kudlow, ANVIL - “The most valuable things in life [are] your relationships, the people that you know, the places you've been, and the experiences you have."

Now I think I want to find and listen to the group’s songs, to me Metal on Metal is quite catchy enough to listen to….but for the rest of the songs I need to dig deeper.
Wassalam.