Anvil

The tribute to 50 years olds in a 30 year old band.


Metal On Metal - Anvil

This is a documentary about Anvil. Who are Anvil? Anvil is the band that toured Japan with some the biggest bands, Bon Jovi, Scorpions etc. Anvil, with the front man Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner, were one of THE bands at that point of time. While the rest went on to sell millions of records, Anvil fell to the side of the road.

This film chronicles what happens after that.

It starts by showing Lips and Robb back in their home town, now working 9-5 jobs. But they still dream, cause they made a promise to be rock stars. They still play and a manager offers to organize a tour of Europe for them, they jump at the chance. But it's tough and the manager is amateurish. Despite having the heart, she doesn't really make things work and the tour culminates in a hall in Romania that holds 10 thousand and yet only 174 people turn up.

Their disappoint is palpable and it tugs at the heartstrings. You look at them and you see 50 year olds and yet you cannot help but admire their passion. It's been 30 years and they're still fighting on and they continue to dream and to reach for that dream.

They get a break when the managed to get a producer to record their latest album. It cost a lot but with supportive people around them, they manage to raise the money and get the album out. But in a world filled with commercial pop, it was always going to be difficult to find someone to distribute their CDs. And their world comes crashing down when that is exactly what happens.

But their passion shine through, they did it for their fans and decided to sell it direct to them. And a miraculous thing happens. Some one from Japan asks them to go to Japan to play. They are happy yet scared. What if there is no one there again?

And in a really poignant scene they come out to thousands of screaming fans, reminiscent of their heyday when they toured Japan with some of the worlds biggest bands. They have lived their dream.