Artist: ANVIL
Album: JUGGERNAUT OF JUSTICE (CD)

Release date: 2011
Media type: CD

The band proves it has the goods with Juggernaut of Justice, which was recorded at Dave Grohl's studio in LA, as the Nirvana/Foo Fighters guru is a friend and fan. Producer Bob Marlette (Ozzy Osbourne, Marilyn Manson) manned the boards for an album that sounds like classic Anvil and is true-to-form. Reiner even went as far as to call it the best in the band's 33-year history, declaring that "Lips sounds 20 years younger and it's fresh, clean, beautiful songs and playing that has the energy of 25-year-old kids."

He's not kidding. The album is forceful enough to shift tectonic plates and generates a thrash attack that will have heavy music fans banging their heads so furiously that they burst blood vessels in their necks and purchase stock in Icy Hot.

Anvil credit Marlette for "capturing the magic," which isn't simple to do. "You can't work at that," Reiner astutely pointed out. "It just happens. Either it is or it isn't. The record reeks of that positivity and there is so much freshness saturating it."

Juggernaut of Justice cycles through many moods and tempos. "Swing Thing" is the band's ambitious metal-jazz track, while "Fukeneh!" is an anthem that is concert hall ready. "Paranormal" is what Reiner refers to as "the ballad," thanks to its heavy, soulful, Sabbathian vibe. "It's a powerful, evil song and that energy is very new for Anvil," the drummer said. Speed metal thrashers like "When Hell Breaks Loose" and "Running" also live on Juggernaut of Justice, while “New Orleans Voodoo" is, according to Reiner, "a downtime pounder." Overall, Kudlow and Reiner are adamant that there is no doom 'n' gloom present on Juggernaut. It's heavy and positive, which isn't common in a lot of hard rock music.

Anvil have a lot to be positive about and it shows. Kudlow admitted that he wrote lyrics and melodies and applied them to the music in the studio, creating the music right there as he went. Instead of being pre-determined, he composed on the spot, without hesitation. "Those are the greatest moments you will capture, because of the discovery process," he said. "When you do that with the vocals, you leave that door open." Kudlow didn't care about starting from scratch and not being locked into stuff he had never previously sung; this unconventional, off-the-cuff approach infuses Juggernaut with its genuine, uncompromised feel. Kudlow also played on guitars "that were not comfortable for me," thanks to the extraordinarily thick strings he used. "It hurt to play them and they made me play differently." That’s another reason why Anvil continues to evolve: 30 years deep, they are still trying new things, growing and expanding. It's this type of fearlessness that will keep heads turning their way.

Kudlow has an interesting theory as to why now is the right time for Anvil to reach this level of acknowledgement after trudging it out for nearly three dozen years. "We got known from a movie, not from our musical integrity in a certain sense," the singer said. "In the vast sense, in the initial sense, it actually was our music because the guy who made the movie was a fan. For the most part, people were introduced to the band from the movie. It was an incredible ride the movie took us on. How did that affect our music and in a positive way? This album is more connected to the movie than the movie connected to the album. It's about not giving up and staying true to yourself."

That's why Anvil connected with the likes of Lars Ulrich and Lemmy Kilmister and their film director and their throng of diehard fans. But it's also why metal fans who have not yet been exposed to the band will check them out and stick with the band for the long haul. Because Anvil could very well have 30 more years ahead of them. Like Reiner said earlier, you can't capture magic unless it's real. And Anvil is as real as it gets.

TRACKLIST:

1. Juggernaut Of Justice 3:40
2. When All Hell Breaks Loose 3:11
3. New Orleans Voodoo 4:25
4. On Fire 3:23
5. Fukeneh! 4:08
6. Turn It Up 2:57
7. The Ride 3:12
8. Not Afraid 3:44
9. Conspiracy 3:20
10. Running 2:54
11. Paranomal 7:04
12. Swing Thing 3:00

LINE-UP:

Steve “Lips” Kudlow: guitars, vocals
Robb Reiner – drums
Glenn Five: bass