Welcome to another edition of From My Collection. This week, heavy metal heaven just got a bit heavier with the passing of original Anvil guitarist and singer, Dave Allison, after a valiant battle with cancer. He was 68 years old. As a core member of Anvil, Allison was there during their most successful period, from 1981 to 1989. It was hard to pick an album to highlight for this week’s retrospective essay, and I almost went with Forged in Fire, as it is arguably the better album in terms of writing and musicianship. However, at the end of the day, the album that will always be most synonymous with these crazy Canucks, and rightfully so, is 1982’s Metal on Metal. After all, it was this landmark album that served as my introduction to Anvil, and likely yours too. So crack open a cold can of Moosehead Lager and toast it to the sky. This one’s for you Dave. Cheers and rest in power!
Before there was Anvil, there was Lips. Formed in 1978, the band found themselves in the thick of a burgeoning Canadian hard and heavy scene, cutting their teeth alongside the likes of Helix, Kick Axe, Starchild, and more. By 1981, all their hard work paid off and culminated in their independently released debut, Hard ‘n Heavy. That album sold so well that it eventually caught the attention of early Canadian metal label, Attic Records, who were interested in reissuing it with a proper distribution. There were, however, a few catches.
Silly as it may sound, it was just a year earlier that a disco group named Lipps Inc. scored a number 1 hit with a little song you might be familiar with, “Funkytown”. Widely regarded today as disco’s last hurrah, “Funkytown” was SO huge that Attic was worried of the potential confusion that could arise between Lips and Lipps Inc. Furthermore, under the Lips moniker, the band boasted a visual aesthetic more characteristic of ’70s glam rock that certainly didn’t match their ’80s metal sound. In one fell swoop, Lips traded their satin suits for leather bondage and quickly rebranded themselves Anvil.
Come 1982, the name “Anvil” would be on the lips (pun fully intended) of headbangers all across the globe, but most notably in England, which became a second home for our boys from the Great White North. Similar to The Rods, Riot, Twisted Sister, and other North American metal acts who found themselves ostracized by their native land’s strict adherence to radio friendly rock (this would, of course, shift in a matter of a year or two), Anvil would be welcomed in the UK with open arms. After all, the NWOBHM was still raging on. Before they knew it, Anvil were opening the prestigious 1982 edition of Monsters of Rock, and off the strength of their anything but a sophomore slump, Metal on Metal.
Don’t get me wrong, Hard ‘n’ Heavy is a grand ol’ time of an album. I’m the first to crank up bangers like “School Love”, “Bondage”, and their metallized cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Paint it Black”. That said, when pitted against Metal on Metal, it sounds like a mere warmup by comparison. Whereas Hard ‘n’ Heavy is a display of great potential, emboldened by its youthful naivety, Metal on Metal is the sound of a well oiled metal machine, unrelenting and merciless in its delivery, standing tall alongside the likes of Raven, Accept, Venom, and other proto-thrash architects.
The album opens, appropriately, with the clink of an anvil, before we’re walloped with one of the most iconic riffs in metal history. It’s a simple riff, really, not far removed from those of AC/DC or British Steel era Judas Priest, yet it drives the purpose of the song on home. “Metal on Metal” is about exactly what it sounds like: A metal band singing about, you guessed it, metal, all to the tune of a driving drumbeat, gang vocals, ripping solos, and again, THAT riff. It immediately transports us back to a time before metal got divided by scenes and subgenres, when all that mattered was cranking up your favorite band and getting wasted on a Friday night.
This is followed by one of my personal favorite Anvil songs, “Mothra”. Cinema has long served as inspiration for excellent metal. After all, Black Sabbath was named after a 1963 Boris Karloff film, but I digress. The MonsterVerse will never NOT be metal (ask Oxygen Destroyer). Anvil knew this way back in ’82 with their ode to the winged beast known as Mothra. For a band that’s often slagged for being unsophisticated or derivative, Anvil sure knew how to craft a brilliant song when they wanted to, with “Mothra” being exhibit A on this here album. Similar to the opening title track, no matter how many times I hear it, I’ll never get sick of it.
Dave Allison handles vocals on track three, “Stop Me”, which I always felt was a bit of an outlier for Anvil. Whereas the rest of the album doubles down on molten metal mania, “Stop Me” sounds more in line with the radio friendly hard rock of fellow countrymen April Wine, and likely would’ve been a smash hit had it hit the airwaves in ’79. It’s midtempo and melodic, bolstered by Allison’s Ace Frehley-esque vocals, not sacrificing its metal edge altogether, but definitely owing more to the hard rock/AOR side of the spectrum than the explosive traditional metal of the day.
The flashy guitar pyrotechnic-laden instrumental that is “March of the Crabs” follows, boasting riffing and soloing that lies somewhere between Michael Schenker and what a young James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett would attempt just a year later. Talk about bridging a gap! Side A then closes with an uptempo romp, “Jackhammer”. Coupling sleazy Zeppelin riffs and innuendo laden lyricism with the bombastic drumming of Robb Reiner, it’s a prime example of proto-thrash, guaranteed to get the heads of any tried and true hesher banging in bliss.
As we flip over to side B, we’re greeted by the equally frenetic and uptempo “Heat Sink”. Again, the lyrics are far from kosher, but that’s part of what makes Anvil who they are. Besides, those who preferred their metal on the headier side could always revisit their old Priest and Rainbow albums, or even the latest fare from Iron Maiden (The Number of the Beast). Anvil kept it raw and real, rocking out the only way they knew how, naysayers be damned.
“Tag Team” tones the speed dial down, revisiting the riff and chorus-centric approach of the opening title track. Indeed, as capable as Anvil were for their dizzying speed, they were equally competent in kicking us in the teeth with a no frills fist-pumper like this one. “Scenery” largely adheres to this formula as well, albeit with a slightly more melodic metal slant due to its twin guitar attack and harmonious chorus, conjuring shadows of Germany’s resident faves, Scorpions.
From a lyric and riff perspective, “Tease Me, Please Me” might be the best Ted Nugent song that never was. It’s rude, crude, sleazy, and unapologetically rockin’, sounding like it was lifted off any of the first three Nuge albums. Yes, that’s right kiddies: Before becoming a mouthpiece for conservative talking points, Uncle Teddy was a hellraising axe slinger, one of the best that ever was as far as we’re concerned. Where “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang” left off, “Tease Me, Please Me” picked up, lord have mercy on our souls!
Speaking of asking the lord for mercy on our souls, we’re gonna need it for the devilish closer that is “666”. Not only did Anvil save the best for last, but they saved the darkest, heaviest, and thrashiest for last. Seriously, put “666” next to any song off Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All or Slayer’s Show No Mercy, and there really isn’t that much difference, especially in the drumming. Again, Reiner was an absolute pioneer who doesn’t get enough recognition for his role in the evolution of metal drumming. Without guys like him, Les Binks, Philthy Animal, and Abaddon, chances are your favorite modern metal band wouldn’t exist to begin with.
Despite all its potential, Metal on Metal never caught on with the masses the way it should have. It did, however, become a cult classic amongst a group of young headbangers who would soon spawn the first wave of thrash metal. Granted, it only takes one viewing of 2008’s Anvil! The Story of Anvil! to figure that out. Nevertheless, Anvil continues to pound on today, well over 45 years since they first assembled as Lips. That, my friends, is what “Metal on Metal” is all about. As Lips sang, “Metal on metal, it’s the only way. To hell with tomorrow, let’s live for today.”
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