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ANVIL
Impact Is Imminent

AFM (2022)
Rating: 6.5/10

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. And so veteran Canadian headbangers Anvil return for more standard metal and an album title that may or may not bring a smile to the faces of thrashers Exodus!

Impact Is Imminent is the 19th opus from a band that will never deliver anything new, but then again, why should they? The vocals are average, the lyrics are poor, the dynamics are predictable, but for the die-hard fans it’s more of the same ballsy rock.

Opener ‘Take A Lesson’ comes complete with what appears to be a Dave Grohl introduction as the band plays on, trudging in a sort of mid-to-late 80s style with lyrics one can only laugh, or cringe, at.

There are flashes of Accept at their most mediocre with the faster segments that boast routine axe work and rattling percussion, but there are some above-average melodies on offer, more so with a cut such as ‘Ghost Shadow’ and the heavier climes of ‘Another Gun Fight’.

The cheesier side really emerges with songs such as ‘Wizard’s Wand’, where the warble of Steve “Lips” Kudlow leaves a lot to be desired alongside those god-awful lyrics, but one still can’t deny that Impact Is Imminent remains a solid ball of rock filled with catchy hooks, some nifty solos (‘Fire Rain’) and some effective bass trundles from Chris Robertson.

However, whether intentional or not there are just too many fillers (the jazzy ‘Gomez’ and ‘Someone To Hate’) and too much of the generic (‘Lockdown’ and ‘The Rabbit Hole’). But it is what it is – an overlong opus from a band that exists on its tried and trusted formulas to appeal to the fans that have been there all the way.

Sadly, all too often I start to enjoy the albums out of sympathy rather than pleasure. In fact, the only tracks that really got my foot tapping here were ‘Ghost Shadow’, the sizzling groove of ‘Shockwave’ complete with cowbell and Black Sabbath-esque doominess, and the speedy ‘Explosive Energy’.

I’m not here to slag off a band that built the foundations for metal, but I am here to say that if you know Anvil then Impact Is Imminent does exactly what it says on the tin; there’s repetition, yet oddness, there’s humour and there’s flashes of excellence. Off course, the trio doesn’t care, they stick to what they know and above all, what they enjoy doing. Robb Reiner remains a beast behind the kit, Lips is somewhat tame yet charming, and Chris Robertson channels the fury of Lemmy. However, the album is still 50-minutes I probably won’t experience again.

Anvil’s latest offering is formulaic, frumpy, but more than enough to appease the fan base which remains as solid and as unwavering as Lips’ goofy glare.

Neil Arnold

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