Canadian metalheads Anvil were in New York this weekend and we unfortunately missed them, however, the good news is that the DVD for the excellent, Sacha Gervasi-directed documentary, “Anvil! The Story Of Anvil” is scheduled to hit DVD on October 6. Here are the DVD extras and they’re pretty sweet:
Bonus Features (Approximately 45 Minutes)
– Featuring a half hour interview with Lars Ulrich of Metallica on Anvil
-Director & Anvil Commentary Track
– Former Band Members Interviews
– Deleted scenes and more
The commentary alone should be priceless if you’re even remotely aware of the goofy, yet self-aware Canadian rockers (Gervasi in particular has a highly attuned sense of absurdist irony, it should be highly amusing).
VH1 Classic records are reissuing their 2007 release, This is Thirteen on September 15th, and according to a recent Rolling Stone feature, the band are re-recording several Anvil classics with producer Chris Tsangaride (the British producer featured in the documentary playing occasional therapist to the band) intended for use on the long-awaited and overdue ‘Anvil!’ soundtrack disc. Why did it take so long considering the film’s been out for months?
“What happened was the label that owns the old material wanted so much money to license the songs, that it became ridiculous,” Steve “Lips” Kudlow told RS. “In fact, it was far cheaper to go in and re-record in the same studio [Phase One], with the same producer, and re-do the songs. The new version of ‘Forged in Fire’ is amazing — I think the original version was played too fast. Remarkably, we’re getting a second chance to record the songs.”
The band also recorded “Thumb Hang” (an old, until-recently never-recorded song they wrote in high school) for Rockband, and the song will turn up as a bonus track on Thirteen. Last we heard the band were looking to release it around the time of the DVD release, so keep your fingers crossed for an October soundtrack release if they can finish it on time. The ‘Anvil’ doc is a fantastic one and while it did well in theaters despite its small release it will surely find a large cult following on DVD which will undoubtedly only grow over the years.
“Forged In Fire” Anvil