Anvil! The Story Of Anvil - 4.5/5

I'm not a fan of documentaries to begin with and in all honesty I just tend to avoid them. But since a few here and there do have to do with one of my largest passions in life (that being heavy metal music) I tend to watch those just because I like to know more about my favorite music. So with the amount of hype that "Anvil!" was getting, I knew I had to check it out.

So what we get with this little documentary is not a full on 'history' of the Canadian speed metal outfit Anvil, but a brief back story and some events and situations that lead up and account to the recording of their latest album "This Is Thirteen" and some of the touring and home life that surrounded this process. It's not really a behind the scenes pic either, even though it does some of that, but its very much the documentation of two struggling men whom fight to achieve their dreams with their band whom should have been considered one of the greats at this time (I will admit that the band is massively underrated as a musical act).

What made this little film so damn good was that it focused so much on the positive side of things. Unlike the piece of shit that was "Some Kind Of Monster" that showed a side of Metallica and company that was completely UN-metal, this bad boy shows us a side of perseverance, heart, and strength that many don't see in metal as a musical genre as a whole. This film is heartwarming and funny but ultimately human as it shows all sides of the spectrum as the band goes through some real life Spinal Tap moments just to play the music that they love.

This is both a sad depiction of what its like to be a struggling artist in a real world environment and a wonderful showing of strength and will power. This is not only one of the best documentaries I've ever seen, its one of the best films this year.

Everyone that is a true Metal fan should buy a copy of "This Is Thirteen" immediately.

Written By Matt Reifschneider