Attic Records
1982
Metal On Metal
About This Album
Pity poor Anvil. Unsung godfathers of thrash and speed metal, hailing from a locale (Toronto) not noted for its headbanging scene, relegated to a Canadian independent label during their brief creative prime, Anvil also had the distinct misfortune to hit the scene just a year before Metallica's Kill 'Em All. Many metal connoisseurs consider Anvil's second album, Metal on Metal, the missing link between the flagbearers of the NWOBHM and the rise of North American thrash. Actually, the closest NWOBHM touchstone here is the proto-thrash madness of Raven, albeit with better riffs and a stronger sense of groove that kept Anvil firmly in control of their particular brand of mania. This is metal for metalheads, played with unabashed gusto by devoted disciples of the form. Indeed, casual metal fans enticed by the Spinal Tap comparisons surrounding 2009's Anvil documentary will find the band celebrating a host of metal clichés: metal! (Anvil uber-anthem "Metal on Metal"); monsters! ("Mothra"); Satan! ("666"); groupie sex! (about half the record, with "Jackhammer" and "Tag Team" being the most cheerfully tasteless). But the comparisons stop there, because these guys could really play.
Track List (try tracks 2,4,5,7 and 9)

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