At 14 Toronto school friends Steve Lips Kudlow and Robb Reiner made a pact to rock together forever. Their band Anvil went on to become the demigods of Canadian metal releasing one of the heaviest albums in metal history 1982's Metal on Metal. The album influenced a musical generation including Metallica Slayer and Anthrax that went on to sell millions of records. But Anvil's career took a different path - straight to obscurity. Director Sacha Gervasi has concocted a wonderful and often hilarious account of Anvil's last-ditch quest for elusive fame and fortune. His ingenious filmmaking may first lead you to think this a mockumentary but it isn't. Gervasi joined the legendary heavy-metal band as a roadie for a tour of Canadian hockey arenas so he has intimate insight into the members' eccentricities. It's fascinating to see the reality of their day-to-day lives as they struggle to make ends meet take a misguided European tour and engage in antics on the road - which is not always lined with fans. Gervasi even finds a softer center to this raucous film introducing us to band members' ever-supportive but long-suffering families. At its core Anvil! The True Story of Anvil is a timeless tale of survival and the unadulterated passion it takes to follow your dream year after year. Anvil rocks - it has no other choice.
