Be honest, how many of you knew about Anvil before VH1 Classic? No Lying
Impact is imminent is the latest album from one of the OG metal bands Anvil, one of the predecessors of thrash. A band so big they joined the ranks of Smash Mouth and Alien Ant Farm to be able to play a show in my town (If you know me in the real world, you know that doesn't mean jack). I was very unfamiliar with the band, until they appeared on that metal show, and the documentary. After that I checked out the classic album Metal on Metal and I loved it, listened to the latest album at the time and was so so on it, and kind of forgot about them. When I was refreshing my album watchlist I saw that they were coming out with a new album and I was intrigued. I was also glad to see they haven't stopped making music, frankly they've never stopped. Hell Yea. So how is their latest project? Let's find out, here we go
Take a Lesson
We kick it off with the old school talking intro, this one reminding me of the Tenacious D intro..... ok fine fine, and the old Kiss intro. Speaking of kicking off, this one kicks off kicking ass when the riffs start flying. The verse itself has a great headbanging bounce to it. The chorus vocal melody isn't anything to write home about, but it works. One thing I really appreciate is that this sounds old, that classic metal tone, its killer. Its a great tone setter to kick off the album.
Ghost Shadow
Taking a trip into the paranormal... hmmm... neat. This one feels like a classic thrash main riff. The Verse though... is kind of bad. The second verse is a bit better as it mixes it up but yea. The chorus is good as it brings in the classic riff again, but for the second time the chorus vocals are very lack luster. Solo section is bad ass though with pedal to the metal. Its the best part of the song, but the rest is forgettable.
Another Gun Fight
Another Gun Fight, another groovy time. This feels more like if the Clash did a metal song in the verse, its a stark contrast to the slow epic opening, almost og Judas Priest feeling aspects of the song. The thing that is starting to worry me, is that chorus is once again, boring. I hope that improves in the album going forward because no matter if the majority of the song is good, a lame chorus destroys momentum. this song had potential but the verse and chorus killed it
Fire Rain
Better than blood I suppose. The beginning of this song screams 80's glam. The Verse is awesome again, and while the chorus, again, is "lazy" it fits more with this one, as when it is pared with the verse, it gives this song some Motorhead qualities. That's always a good thing.
Teabag
Oh, not that kind, sorry... This song makes me think of Satch Boogie, and that bass is pretty damn nice, the stand out feature of this song. Other than the one instance of them yelling Teabag, its a groovy stray cats feeling instrumental. With the fun nature of this song, makes me wonder if my joke isn't a joke after all. iif
Don't Look Back
More Cowbell!!! This hard chord and thumping tom intro reminds me of Metal on Metal. I have a feeling that was intentional. And finally finally FINALY! A non lame chorus! Not much else to say, its just nice to have a consistent track
Someone to Hate
These guys do love that double bass don't they. The aggressiveness returns which is quite lovely. Both lyrically and musically. Unfortunately, the lame chorus returns again, just not as bad as before. Its ok, the main part is par the course but adding in the echoing harmonies is a welcome touch. Just the rest of this song is so good, it holds it up.
Bad Side of Town
Leroy brown has entered the chat. What, he's the baddest man in the whole damned town. The main riff is very straightforward, but effective. It builds perfect momentum that they carry on throughout the track. It is a very well constructed track that I want to race down the freeway, at a legal rate, just blasting it. Lyrically it is a little try hard, but that is just what metal has to be sometimes lets be honest here
Wizard's Wand
Keep your Wizard's wand to yourself, as for the sleeve well... Anyway the riff has a great rolling quality to it. It in ways reminds me of the Zoo from the Scorpions. But that gets lost in the repetitive verse and... I know I'm being a broken record but I have to say it, the lame chorus. Its getting old at this point. It lowers the replayability of the album when it gets this.... I'll save this for the verdict
Verdict:
A verdict that is coming now. I hate to skip the last few tracks but it was just more of the same and I'm tired of saying the same thing over and over. I appreciate and love that they are still creating music consistently after all of these years, but I don't give passes. There are equal parts great riffs and solos as there is pretty crap chorus' and repetitive melodies. I mean it almost has the same song on here twice, Gomez is just supped up Teabag. That is a sentence I never want to say again. I do think this album is worth at least one listen, and if the songs come up on a shuffle I wouldn't skip them, as I feel these songs to fit well on a shuffled playlist. But the album front to back, I can't say I'd want to go out of my way to listen to again. And with that, it gets the final verdict of a D+, yea I'm switching to a grading system, it makes it easier for new people to understand instead of my original rankings. I may go back to all my rankings and convert them on my website. While again, the album does have some good moments, they aren't anything to really write home about, and the bad parts are just a bit too cringy to not take it down, and that's coming from someone who doesn't mind a bit of cringe. Its a shame, I wanted to like this one more than I did, but it can't always be the case.
D+
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