"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...," may be the opening line of Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities, but it could just as easily serve as an introduction to The Anvil Story, which began in 1973 when two friends, Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb "Geza" Reiner, solemnly pledged "to rock together forever." They were fourteen-years old at the time. Less than a decade on it looked like the duo's dream of becoming heavy metal gods was about to come true. Their band Anvil was on the precipice of superstardom. Their 1982 album Metal On Metal served as the blueprint for a new fast and furious brand of heaviness called speed metal, and by the summer of '84 they were touring the world with such luminaries as The Scorpions, Bon Jovi and Whitesnake.
Anvil's music and larger-than-life live shows inspired a generation of bands such as Metallica, Guns N' Roses and Anthrax (who started out as an Anvil cover band). But while Anvil fanned the flames of others, their own fire died down. When the world turned its back on Anvil, they returned to the bosom of their families back in Toronto and eventually got day jobs. But Lips and Robb never broke their oath. They continued to rock despite the fact that their gigs were relegated to the weddings, funerals and Bar-Mitzvahs circuit. By 2004, Anvil had released a total of twelve albums, many into the darkness of total oblivion.
Out of that pitch-black void came a phone call from the UK's number one Anvil fan, Sacha "Teabag" Gervasi. Now a Hollywood writer and director, with a list of credits that includes The Big Tease and The Terminal, Gervasi decided to document the band's story of faith in the face of monumental failure. With his camera crew in tow, Gervasi followed Lips and Robb as they embarked on a world tour that was epic in its lack of success, and captured the emotional roller-coaster ride that was the recording of their new album -- which almost lead to the band's demise.
Though Anvil's This Is Thirteen CD proved to be spectacularly deficient in the sales department when it was first released, like everything else associated with Anvil right now, it's getting a new lease of life thanks to the loud buzz of feedback generated by the release of Gervasi's film. As the credits on Anvil: The Story of Anvil roll, Robb and Lipps are getting the opportunity to rock like never before.
I caught up with Gervasi to find out the score. Click HERE to read my interview at SuicideGirls.com.
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