Monument Of Metal: The Very Best Of Anvil
The 2009 documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil unmasked this Toronto band as a real-life Spinal Tap, founded by two polite Jewish boys who never caught a break. Questions of musical worth went mostly unanswered. This comp clears that up: Turns out Anvil raced at thrash tempos before disciples like Metallica did; they also balanced chops, hooks and pervy humor in ways speed metal was too serious for. Monument is a hodgepodge: a few rerecorded songs, a 2007 rendition of the Inquisition-torture depiction “Thumb Hang,” written when guitarist-screamer Lips and drummer Robb Reiner were teenagers. But recent tracks – see 2004’s class-raging “Bottom Feeder” – sacrifice none of Anvil’s youthful power.
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