AFM Records [Release date: 28.06.24]
There’s Old School Heavy Metal bands, and there’s Anvil.
On their 20th album now, the aptly titled One And Only, these Canadian legends have shed any pretence of “modernising” their sound, reaching back to the honest, unadorned working man’s metal of their Metal Blade days.
The band, with a consistent line up of founder members Robb Reiner and Steve Kudrow, plus the inspired recruitment of bass man, Chris Robertson ten years ago, seem reinvigorated by this renewal.
So while their “sound” reaches back in time, several of the songs here have contemporary lyrical themes. ‘Truth Is Dying’, ‘Fight For Your Rights’, and ‘World Of Fools’ are full of mature and interesting emotional observations. The song titles alone tell a story.
The opening tracks ‘One And Only’ and ‘Feed Your Fantasy’ have got plenty of industrial grit under their musical fingernails. The band resist turning the heavy metal guitars up to eleven, and in doing so leave room for a loud and relentless rhythmic pulse.
‘Heartbroken’, a rough and ready metal song, cuts through the sentiment, and the results, confronting us with stark but simple truths, are very powerful. It’s actually quite touching.
And again, lyrically, with ‘Gold and Diamonds’, ‘Dead Mans Shoes’ and ‘Rocking In The World’ they confound our expectations, focusing on the unlikeliest of subjects. These are well written, precise, sharp and relatively friction free heavy metal songs, with sturdy melodies and provocative lyrical themes.
The fact that they are delivered by an influential band, still with plenty of heavy metal fire in their belly, is a joy to behold. ***1/2
Review by Brian McGowan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
Next session: Sunday 1 December
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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.
UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.
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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024
ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)
Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)
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