"Basics" is the key word here, with
Anvil not necessarily going back to that, but yet staying consistent with a stripped down hard driving metal sound. Since their incarnation nearly twenty-five years ago, the quartet began as more or less a Canadian counterpart to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal that was going on at the time, sort of mixing the stripped down riff work of AC/DC, some of the technicalities of fellow Canadians Rush, and the aggression of Motorhead, eventually evolving into a proto-thrash group that would go through both lineup and record label changes,
Anvil still keeps metal at a down to earth pace without all the overzealous production.
With Back to Basics being their sixteenth album, they have a shitload of material under their belt to satisfy their audience, for which that belt has come a little tight within the last decade, due to the fact that their material has worn a little thin, but never-the-less all fans should be pleased with this one.
High points include the raucous rock and roll cut
"Song of Pain," the hard driving Motorhead reminiscent
"The Chainsaw," and the dark
"Cruel World" sum up the record's stance with the rest of the tracks sort of speaking for themselves with a sense for melodic structure and heavy riffs created by vocalist/lead guitarist Lips.
Although the riffs are the main endurance behind the occasional memorable hooks, the vocals could use a little work at this point, sounding a little bit distraught expressed with less power. Back to Basics will satisfy the hardcore
Anvil fan, being one heavy record, but for those who have ever wanted to pick up a record by these guys, you might want to start with some of the earlier material, for which is the centerpoint for the band's establishment in the metal world, regardless, it's good to see that these guys show no sign of going soft.
Written by
Hashman Thursday, July 8, 2004
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