Anvil

Now I like a rockumentary but I have to say I found this one more than a little depressing.

Apparently Anvil should have been extremely famous and successful in the early 1980s and influenced loads of heavy metal bands. Instead they disappeared into obscurity but carried on regardless releasing a stream of scary albums.

They decided in 2005 to make a documentary about how hard they try to be successful and how brilliant they are. We do have a problem here in that I cant stand heavy metal. And that I find men in their fifties playing heavy metal even more excruciating. At least he wasn't wearing bondage this time around but it still didn't make for pleasant viewing. The desperation was believable and unnerving, and there really were no laughs. Even Metallica's "Some Kind of Monster" had the odd giggle.

The film shows them working normal unskilled jobs (delivering food to schools) and going on tour in Europe playing to literally tens of people. Fortunately the lead singer's sister is wealthy and soft and she paid for them to record an album which makes up the second half of the film.

I imagine they did it on the slipstream of Metallica and ultimately the film has done roughly what they hoped. No record company would release "This is Thirteen" until the documentary proved popular, and then VH1 Classic did. Now Anvil have a new lease of life touring Europe and supporting heavy metal bands I have heard of but would never want to see play.

I suppose I should be pleased for them. The end of the film should have left me uplifted as they were seen playing a gig to thousands in Japan. The most I felt was marginally moved and pleased they didn't feature in my record collection. But then what did I expect?

I need to watch Spinal Tap to cheer myself up.

3/10