Anvil Concert Review

I was really amped up to see this gig. I have never seen Anvil live, and I do think they merit a lot of respect. They were forerunners of the Canadian metal scene in the 80s. They were one of the heavier bands to start off the decade. Bands like Exciter, Razor, Voivod, Voor, and Sacrifice would follow, and offer a much more extreme take on Metal. But Anvil sure had a brief moment in the spotlight. Lips even shared a story about hanging out with Metallica at the Old Bridge Metal Militia house in New Jersey. This was a house that was popular in the 80s, with underground metal heads. Many touring bands would stop over and party there. After a gig with Metallica, Lars Ulrich approached Lips, and told him how influential he was to the entire metal scene. That is HOW big a deal Anvil was early on. So, I was a bit sad to see a turnout of only 60 people. I don't want to really say much about the opening bands. I will mention that White Wizzard sucked ass. Boring, hipster metal, with no soul. Anvil opened with "March of the Crabs", a great instrumental from Metal on Metal. Followed by another oldie, 666. Other highlights were "Winged Assassins" and "Metal on Metal". For me, the best moment came during "Mothra". Lips pulled out the infamous dildo and played some mean slide guitar. There was an extended middle section, with an awesome solo. The set ended with Lips coming off stage and shaking everyone's hand, thanking us for coming. If you get a chance to see them, I really urge you to. Lips and Robb Reiner are metal legends. It really is like a time machine back to the early days of the underground scene!

Photo Credit:

Frank Schwichtenberg, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons