Now that we're coming down to the end of the year, I'm listening to all kinds of stuff. This article is gonna keep it classic, for the most part, featuring some old school riffing and attitude. Let's get into it!
Anvil is another name I had seen around, but never really gotten to. I know they sometimes get name-checked as a major influence on better known bands, like Metallica. I also haven't seen that documentary that got made about their history, though I do know that kinda put them back on the map, in a way. So I've started with their first album (originally released under the band name Lips before switching to Anvil and rereleasing it later), and I have to say, it's not quite what I expected.
First, I will say that I did expect the sound to be sort of between hard rock and heavy metal, and that's definitely the case here. Listening to it made my think of those early glam and pop metal records from the likes of Motley Crue or Def Leppard. When they decide to up the tempo, there's also a dash of Motorhead in there as well. Sort of a Canadian NWOBHM band, if that makes. And they sound pretty good, clean riffs, not exactly consistent with the tempo sometimes, but confident in how they want to sound.
However, the main problem is the lyrics and their delivery. They tried to go for a bawdy, suggestive tone, as if trying to out-do AC/DC or Van Halen, but they don't have much charm or thought to them, often just talking about picking up girls and sleeping with them. The result, along with Steve "Lips" Kudlow's cheesy delivery, is something a horny high school boy would think is boundary pushing for the early 80s, but just comes across as shallow, and honestly kinda ruins the music for me.
Still, there's some neat bits here and there. "School Love," and "Oooh Baby" have some nice riffs, and "Bedroom Game" is an interesting attempt at a kind of speed metal. However, the rest is kinda forgettable. Even the Rolling Stones cover really doesn't add much but some metal chugging to the iconic original. Maybe there next albums provide a clearer picture of their influence, but for now, this just seems like a mere footnote in the history of rock and metal.
Sorcerer - Lamenting of the Innocent
I'm always down for some epic doom metal, and this was another band who's name I'd seen floating around that genre. Then when I learned that they're fellow countrymen of Candlemass, I figured I had better sit down and give these guys a shot by listening to their latest album. However, I was pretty thrown by what I'd heard.
You know when a power metal or prog metal band will record a really slow but heavy song to try and shake things up? (Like "Eternity" by Stratovarius or "Paralyzed" by Dream Theater.) Basically, that's Sorcerer's whole sound. You might think that sounding slow and mean would be classic doom, but that's usually with an intentionally thick production and fuzzy guitar tones, like Candlemass or Saint Vitus. However, here, we have a very polished production, and very clean tones. Also, most doom vocalists have a kind of haunted and tormented delivery, but again, with this album, Anders Engberg is as clear as a bell, and throws in some vibrato like Roy Khan, or has a more emotional tone like Mark Basile of DGM or Tom Englund of Evergrey. Basically, I went in expecting doom and got slow, melodic prog instead. It's weird! With me being new to the band, it could be that this is just how they sound, but it still threw me for a loop.
That being said, it is by no means bad. Engberg is a great singer, bellowing out classic doom lyrics with ease (songs about hope and despair, God and Satan, good and evil, fire and brimstone, etc.). And guitarists Kristian Niemann and Peter Hallgren have plenty of great, chunky riffs, but also have tons of melodic solos and guitar harmonies, like Helloween or Iron Maiden. The songs often hit seven or eight minutes, but they never felt long. I think I liked what I heard, but I'm probably going to have to listen to it some more in order to reconcile how I really feel about it. It's the most un-doom I've heard a doom metal album sound!
Well, this ended up being one of the surprises of the year. AC/DC was in rough shape the past few years, with Brian Johnson losing his hearing, Phil Rudd getting in trouble with the law, and the death of Malcolm Young. So when rumors started leaking about the band getting back together with a new album halfway through 2020, it was pretty sudden. Featuring more riffs from Malcolm before he had passed on, the album was made in tribute to him.
As for the music, well, you get what you expect with AC/DC: blues rock so old school, it has tenure. What I noticed on this one was the backing vocals doing some different things other than just singing along with the chorus. There are Wooo's and Oh Yeah's and the interesting shift in the chorus on "Systems Down" that has the guys singing a different rhythm than Johnson. I'd have to go back and listen to some of their other albums to hear if they've done this before or not. It's not a game-changer by any means, but it does liven things up a little here and there.
Overall, this album is very much like Rock or Bust: straight-forward rock that's good while it's on. While there are some stand out tracks like "Shot in the Dark" and "Demon Fire," the rest is pretty standard stuff from these guys. I still think they have yet to top Black Ice, when considering their recent output, but certainly not a bad effort.
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