Tilte says it all. Just wanting to see how well known thwy actually were. I was only aware of them by name.
It's not easy having a good time. Even smiling makes my face ache.share
Their image and profile of the time was described pretty accurately in the film. I saw them at the Reading Rock Festival and they pretty high up on the bill. They can be seen as a bridge between the New wave of British Heavy metal and the increasingly ludicrous American big hair cock rock stadium bands of the late 80s.
shareThey can be seen as a bridge between the New wave of British Heavy metal and the increasingly ludicrous American big hair cock rock stadium bands of the late 80s.
Well, Motorhead & Venom predate Anvil and were more influential in that vein. Exodus also predate the so-called "Big Four" (speaking of which, it's a disgrace to consider Megadeth one of the Four in lieu of Exodus), and also were more influential in the thrash scene. One should probably include Overkill in that category, as well. Anvil was a true heavy metal band, but lost their way a bit when, as youngian correctly points out, they began to drift towards the awful American glam rock (refuse to call them metal) scene, which alienated some of their fans who, perhaps, drifted towards the aforementioned thrash scene along with Slayer, Metallica, Exodus, etc.
shareHave you heard some of Anvil's late 90s stuff? (i.e. Plugged in Permanent, Plenty of Power, Speed of Sound etc.) Some of that is really heavy, definitely thrash metal.
To the rational mind, nothing is inexplicable - only unexplained.
No, I have not. I was one of those who, beginning in the early 80's, was continually drawn to heavier music. I hadn't listened to Anvil since those early years. Once death metal really got going in the late 80's I've not listened to much else since. Having been into heavy music for about 30 years now, though, I certainly have a lot of respect for the forefathers, Anvil among them. Hell, few things make me happier than breaking out some old Judas Priest. I was really impressed with this Anvil doc, good stuff.
sharefirst heard them in 1983.....been my fave band ever since
shareI've heard about them before ever hearing about the film. Metal; specifically Thrash adn NWOBHM is really all I listen to, so I spend a lot fo time looking for "new" old bands to listen to. I love obscure 80's metal. <3
shareI had heard of them because I'm from Ontario and have seen them play a couple times in Toronto. They rock hard and I'm glad they're gaining notoriety.
"Past this tunnel is the rest of the world.."
I heard about them about four years ago when I was fourteen in books on the history of Heavy Metal. They were represented in a couple books I read like the Encyclopedia of Heavy metal where they got a short biography.
Innocence, torn from me without your shelter.
I never really listened to them but I got into metal in the mid to late 80's and they were mentioned by other bands in interviews and articles. Thats how i heard about a lot of bands, others like Saxon, Diamondhead, and Mercyful Fate. Which the latter led me to King Diamond who to this day I'm a big fan of. I also saw a movie call Hells Bells the dangers of rock and roll in 89-90 and they played about 30 seconds of 666, which i thought sounded pretty good.
shareMetal On Metal and Mothra were a couple of the first riffs I learned to play.
If youre in Hell what can I say?You probably deserved it anyway.I guess Im gonna find out any day.
I knew very little about Anvil before seeing this movie. I recorded the song "blood on the ice" off the radio in the late 80's so that was the only song I ever knew. But I did know OF them. I can understand why so many people hadn't heard of them. Same reason a lot of people never heard of Raven or Riot or bands like that. THey just didn't get that mainstream coverage. Anvil is not the only band in that genre that never made it big. There's tons of them. They're just one of the few that chose to stick it out no matter how hopeless it was.
shareI'm from Saudi arabia and i heard of'em long time before the movie, but this just made them even bigger in my eyes
shareI was still wearing diapers when "Hard 'n' heavy" was released so I can't comment on that period. However, I did stumble on their music when I started collecting records and dug into 80's metal. One day I bought "Hard 'n' heavy" and "Metal on metal" (vinyl off course) on a flea market for just a couple of cents. I could hear the significance in their music, but since I didn't experience that period, it just sounded silly (I'm more into prog so you can imagine I'm bored very quick listening to their songstructures and lyrics).
The records stayed in my collection a long time unplayed. Two years ago, not long after the movie was released (which I was not aware of), I was cleaning out the closet, and put the records on an auction-site. I was surprised, that someone wanted to pay 10 dollars each! Who would, after all these years, be interested in such outdated silly heavy metal? Then I found out about the movie ... and I understood.
Silly or not, for staying dedicated for so long they deserve the credits.