Anvil - JUGGERNAUT OF JUSTICE (The End Records, 2011)

Anvil - JUGGERNAUT OF JUSTICE (The End Records, 2011)

Grade: B

12 Tracks, Run Time: 44:58

Rock and roll history is full of Cinderella stories and tales of so-called "overnight sensations," but few have been more heartwarming than the saga surrounding this veteran Canadian metal band. After spending most of the past two decades toiling in near-obscurity, Anvil unexpectedly found themselves launched into the spotlight several years ago thanks to Sasha Gervasi's award-winning 2008 documentary, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil." Suddenly the band was being welcomed with open arms on the film festival circuit, opening stadium shows for their musical heroes like AC/DC, and crankin' it up on late night television talk shows. Now that a few years have passed and the notoriety from the film has died down, it's up to Anvil to prove that they can stand up on their own two feet and deliver new material worthy of all the hype that's been bestowed upn them. Therefore, JUGGERNAUT OF JUSTICE, their first studio album since 2007's THIS IS THIRTEEN (the creation of which was a major part of Gervasi's documentary), will be a pivotal release for Anvil, and I'm pleased to report that it is another killer collection of old school, no-frills heavy metal that should satisfy their long standing metalhead cult following as well as the curious newbies who've become interested in the band thanks to the movie.

The title track kicks things off in suitably "Big Opening Song" fashion and sets the tone for the rest of the album. When you first glance at the track listing, titles like "Turn It Up," "On Fire" and "All Hell Breaks Loose" may reek of '80s metal cliches, but the songs are so catchy and the performances are so dead-on that you can't help but raise your devil-horn hand sign in appreciation. "Fuken' Eh!" quickly jumped out as an early favorite; this goofy-but-fun speed metal cut features some absolutely fiery guitar shredding from Steve "Lips" Kudlow while his long time partner in crime Robb Reiner backs him up with equally frenzied drum abuse. The crunchy "New Orleans Voodoo" and the chug-along "This Ride" are equally strong tracks that should have listeners air-guitaring along in no time.

I did notice a few moments where Anvil seems to be re-visiting their back catalog; intentionally or not, parts of the thudding "Paranormal" certainly have a distinct "Forged In Fire" vibe, while "On Fire" sounds a lot like the oldie "Shadow Zone" and "This Ride" seems like they took bits of their classic instrumental "March of the Crabs" and put lyrics over the top of it. Given the band's considerable longevity, and the fact that most people probably haven't heard those songs, I suppose a bit of recycling is forgivable on Anvil's part (hell, Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. has pretty much been cannibalizing his old goods exclusively for the past decade). If nothing else, hearing these songs may inspire newcomers to the band to seek out past Anvil albums like METAL ON METAL, FORGED IN FIRE and POUND FOR POUND.

The album closes with the instrumental "Swing Thing," which is an odd combination of thrash metal shredding accompanied by a horn section. Yes, you read that right. It sounds truly bizarre on paper, but the band totally sells it. This track includes some of Reiner's fastest, fanciest drumming on the album and further guitar heroics from Kudlow. All in all, JUGGERNAUT OF JUSTICE is a fast-n-furious good time. You can tell that Kudlow, Reiner, and bassist Glenn Five were truly excited while making this album, and had a hell of a lot of fun doing it. The band's love and single-minded devotion to their musical dreams provided the "heart" of the "Anvil!" documentary, and those feelings are still very evident when you listen to JUGGERNAUT OF JUSTICE. These guys were born to rock 'n' roll, and it does this long time fan's heart good to know that other people are -- finally! -- listening.