Released: 1982
Genre: Heavy Metal, Speed Metal
Label: Attic
Number Of Tracks: 10
This is everything metal is and should if you don't have this record in your collection then your not a true metal head.
Metal On Metal
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on august 18, 2010 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: Metal on Metal is the second studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Anvil. Released in 1982, 1 year before Metallica and Slayer's debut albums, this album is a straight-forward heavy/thrash metal album that was too heavy to get signed by a major label. Anvil is more about the energy they create than pure speed, though they are kinda fast. Drummer Robb Reiner is skilled and good at what he does. With classics such as March of the Crabs and Metal on Metal, this album is pretty awesome and I really recommend it if you liked Kill Em All. // 8
Lyrics and Singing: While singer Lips isn't the best singer in the world, his style of singing fits the heavy music like a glove. His lyrics are memorable and extremely catchy. Bassist Glenn Five is great at backing vocals, as well as bass-playing. This album has some catchy songs, like Metal on Metal and Mothra (not so much Mothra). // 8
Impression: 01. Metal on Metal - Truly single worthy. Starting off with rhythmic cymbal 'clangs', the song goes into a crunchy riff leaving you wanting for more. Then the song explodes with a riff similar to the intro, except faster. Then the instruments quiet down and Lips starts singing verses that will stick in your head for ages. Then the headbanging "Keep on rockin'" leads into more verses, followed by a classic solo. This is the reason you bought the album. 10/10
02. Mothra - The guitar work on here is great. With many short solos (and one big solo) and great riffs, this is one awesome song. The chorua, 'Mothra, Mothra', is a bit questionable, but otherwise, great song. 9/10
03. Stop Me - Starts with a clean opening riff (eh) then goes into a solo and slow riffage. The singing and guitar sorta makes this song sound like a Who song. There are a bunch of great solos in this, though. Overall, a pretty mellow song that doesnt fit in with the rest of the album. 6/10
04. March of the Crabs - Instrumental. This song needs no fuckin words anyways. Kick-ass guitar and drum intro climaxing into the 'chorus'. I'm telling you, the riffs in here are freakin brilliant. Headbang away for a brilliant song. 10/10
05. Jackhammer - Great guitar riff, though its repitition may dampen its awesome-ness. The singing is alright. The chorus sounds great, kind of catchy if you know the words. Nice solo though. 8/10
06. Heat Sink - Many tempo changes in this song. When the song gets faster, the instruments dont really fit together well. But slower tempos sound better. The guitar is good in this, often staying with higher notes when not palm muting. 7/10
07. Tag Team - Slow, blues-y kind of riffs and solos. The singing complements the blues-y style of song. The solo is excelent, sounds like an AC/DC solo, also very blues-y. Nothing to head-bang to, just a relaxing song. 8/10
08. Scenery - Holy shit, Crazy Train copy. This song sounds ALOT like Ozzy's Crazy Train. I expected Lips to scream "ALL ABOARD" through the entire song. However, the guitar does a good job at 'covering' Crazy Train. 8/10
09. Tease Me, Please Me - Love the riffs, nice chrunchy main riff. Catchy chorus, though. Not much else to say. Great song, listen to it. 9/10
10. 666 - Fast Slayer like instruments. Definently somewhat speed metal. The singing is unique, but not that great. Lips doesn't really singing along with the drums or guitar in this song. 8/10 // 8
Metal On Metal
Reviewed by:
lilinbody12, on august 06, 2009 2 of 6 people found this review helpful
Sound: This is everything metal is and should if you don't have this record in your collection then your not a true metal head. Metal On Metal is the sound of heavy metal there just as important to metal as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden or Motörhead. When you listen to this album you will know the true meaning of metal. Whether it's killer riffs, guitar solos or sick drum beats Avil will deliver it to you. They have a great sound it reminds me of like early Judas Priest Records But Heavier. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics are great and the vocals blend with the rest of the band nicely. They have all the heavy metal lyrics you would expect from songs like Metal On Metal, Jackhammer, Tease Me, Please Me to 666. Definitely not the greatest singer I have ever herd but he fits in nice with the songs and does a damn good job. // 8
Impression: I would rate this up there with all the early Priest and Iron Maiden records. I love the Riffs on this album and all the Solos and great drumming by Robb Reiner. The songs that really stood out on this album where Metal on Metal, Stop Me, Jackhammer, Scenery and 666. So if you are a fan of heavy metal bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden or Motörhead you can't go wrong with this album. If this were stolen I would hunt the person down that stole it and murder them with an anvil and if it was lost I would without a doubt by it again. // 10
The big four thrash bands ripped these guys sound and left them for dead. Anvil was way before metallica Slayer and Anthrax , and yeah this guy wrote it like garbage but these guys invented thrash get your metal history right.
The big four thrash bands ripped these guys sound and left them for dead. Anvil was way before metallica Slayer and Anthrax , and yeah this guy wrote it like garbage but these guys invented thrash get your metal history right.
So true, Anvil started something that evolved to the Thrash Metal many of us love. Well, I would not say as much as the 4 big ripped Anvil, but, I sure find funny that while many big names in Thrash and metal in general are paying respect to this band, the "true" fans seem not just to don´t know about them but even hate them! Without this guys it would be hard to visualize Thrash Metal the way it is now. Metal On Metal is not even in my Top 50 Thrash Metal albums but its influence is there in many of the most succesful bands around.
I love this band soooo much (one of the few good Canadian metal bands) but they aren't as good as early Maiden or Priest. Early metal is my favorite type of music and Anvil isn't the best but still amazing none the less!!!
I really don't know how much Anvil "influenced" Slayer, Metallica or Anthrax. These bands have been around for almost 30 years and have cited many influences (Venom, Diamond Head, etc.) but never any mention of Anvil until VH1 makes a movie about them and releases an album of theirs. I think its more a case of clever marketing by VH1 than the secret underdog root-of-all-metal story that they want people to believe.
call me a metallica fan or whatever you will
but i just saw anvil open for acdc a last week, and they sucked
they looked (and sounded) like a bad attempt at spinal tap (they sang a song about mothra)
the music was really awkward and not fun at all to listen to
the other opening band was some unknowns from nothern ireland and they were much better
call me a metallica fan or whatever you will
but i just saw anvil open for acdc a last week, and they sucked
they looked (and sounded) like a bad attempt at spinal tap (they sang a song about mothra)
the music was really awkward and not fun at all to listen to
the other opening band was some unknowns from nothern ireland and they were much better
I saw AC/DC twice this year and the Irish group are called The Answer, but they weren't that great. At Wembley Stadium we had a really bad group called the Subways as well as the Answer, terrible! AC/DC blew my mind though!
If they were just as important as Iron Maiden or Motorhead and shit, then they would still be relevant today.
However, a number of heavy metal musicians claim that Anvil was a huge influence on early thrash. They're making a comeback of sorts with the movie that was released on them, but there's no way they're as important as Iron Maiden.
I really don't know how much Anvil "influenced" Slayer, Metallica or Anthrax. These bands have been around for almost 30 years and have cited many influences (Venom, Diamond Head, etc.) but never any mention of Anvil until VH1 makes a movie about them and releases an album of theirs. I think its more a case of clever marketing by VH1 than the secret underdog root-of-all-metal story that they want people to believe.
Saw an interveiw with Metallica and they did say they love Anvil and Anvil was an influence on them. This was back in the 80's so maybe you're too young to know anything about metal.
Saw an interveiw with Metallica and they did say they love Anvil and Anvil was an influence on them. This was back in the 80's so maybe you're too young to know anything about metal.
I'll admit I haven't seen every interview Metallica ever did. I haven't been a Metallica fan since the Black Album and when that came out I was 13.
I don't see how not being aware of every interview done by a band that has bored me for the past 18 years is indicative of me being "too young to know anything about metal." You assume way too much.
I still think that Anvil mostly sucks and VH1 is using them to cash in on metal nostalgia.
Also, as far as I know, thrash wasn't really influenced by them. Dave Mustaine listened to Venom, Priest, Diamond Head, and Mercyful mostly that influenced him. I think Anvil is a half decent band, the album probably deserves a 5-6.
Anvil is pretty good. not my fave metal band, but good. and metal on metal is an awesome album, but your review is shit. and for the guys saying metallica was the first thrash band and shit, all I have to say is this:
Kill 'em all : 1983
Metal on Metal:1982. AND they released a slightly less thrash album in 1981. so no, anvil influenced metallica.
[quote]Abacus11 wrote:
I'll admit I haven't seen every interview Metallica ever did. I haven't been a Metallica fan since the Black Album and when that came out I was 13.
I think Anvil is pretty good, not excellent, the doc definatly got their career moving again. Their dedication alone is something to behold. Honestly, how many people can say they've been trying for 25 years. "Lips" might not be a great singer but he is a very good guitarist, and this is what this site is supposed to be about, right? Not to mention Robb Reiner as a drummer, Jesus Christ, that's a bad ass.
I think Anvil is pretty good, not excellent, the doc definatly got their career moving again. Their dedication alone is something to behold. Honestly, how many people can say they've been trying for 25 years. "Lips" might not be a great singer but he is a very good guitarist, and this is what this site is supposed to be about, right? Not to mention Robb Reiner as a drummer, Jesus Christ, that's a bad ass.
I sure as hell agree. The documentary was great and made me really appreciate the band. Lips singing is okay, but it still reeks of true metal.
Abacus11 wrote:
Saw an interveiw with Metallica and they did say they love Anvil and Anvil was an influence on them. This was back in the 80's so maybe you're too young to know anything about metal.
I'll admit I haven't seen every interview Metallica ever did. I haven't been a Metallica fan since the Black Album and when that came out I was 13.
I don't see how not being aware of every interview done by a band that has bored me for the past 18 years is indicative of me being "too young to know anything about metal." You assume way too much.
I still think that Anvil mostly sucks and VH1 is using them to cash in on metal nostalgia.
You're kind of a dick. Have you even seen the documentary? They may not be amazing they're pretty damn good and committed to what they have. It's people like you who shoot them down that made their lives hell. Watch the documentary. Then you'll understand.
Oh, and this review. It's okay. Too many spelling errors. And you don't HAVE to own this album to be a true metal head. But it's pretty much almost required for your collection of metal albums.
not only did Metal On Metal come out in early 1982, but Forged In Fire, which is altogether heavier, came out in early 1983. Kill Em All didn't come out until december of that year, and Only the guitar work on Kill Em All could be considered thrash. Lars is a terrible drummer, didn't really get his chops down till Master Of Puppets. Slayer and Anthrax also dropped their debuts in late 1983. Anthrax started out playing ANVIL cover tunes and Charlie Benante considered himself purely a tribute to Robb Reiner. Dave Lombardo didn't have his chops down till Hell Awaits. ANVIL started in 1973 under the name LIPS. Many of the songs on Metal On Metal were already written and being played live as early as 1977, including heavy tunes like Jackhammer and March Of The Crabs. The record company refused to release them on Hard N' Heavy, thinking they were too heavy for the market.
Also, ANVIL was the only major speed metal band to release true speed metal in the 90's. Kreator and other european bands took a more death metal approach. Slayer played hardcore. And the rest of the big four lightened their sound to try and compete with grunge, an epic fail. ANVIL... REAL METAL!
hey guys, you know, you should comment on the album. not the review. This album is good. not the greatest ever, but still awesome. and dont say their "Overrated" just because theyre popular. that makes you part of the problem
the problem being pretentious music snobs who are more suited for being pummeled to death in a mosh pit than calling themselves metal heads.
there are things that truly are overrated however. Slipknot is overrated for example. not because theyre popular, but because they arent as good as everyone says they are. they also set a crappy new standard for metal: "lets sound as main stream as possible! forget playing good stuff like Metallica or Black Tide or Amon Amarth! let's play like shit and have a ****ing guy with a goddamn turn table in our poor excuse for a band!"
its a good, fun, but most of all, metal album. i think one of the biggest reasons this band is having a resurgence is because people miss the old, classic metal, and this band was widely disregarded in that. in the grand scheme of things, no this band isnt the best thing ever. but theyre pretty damn good, especially in this day and age.
March of the Crabs is awesome, don't know if it was on this album though...
I saw Anvil live last weekend at Graspop. They were alot more fun than most of the other bands there, like Slayer, who're supposed to be a Big Four band but still screwed up their sound, i couldn't even hear the guitar in the first few songs until Kerry and Jeff realised 'oh wait, i can't hear myself playing'. And it was really just boring to watch...
Anvil, on the other hand, had a perfect show, Lips even played with a vibrator which was awesome. The sound was good too. They've been holding on to their own style for about 30 years because they had no influence by music companies trying to change them.
"Bassist Glenn Five is great at backing vocals, as well as bass-playing."
Hello, before you write a review, you should at least know something about the personnel of the band. The bass player on Metal On Metal is the original Anvil bassist, Ian Dickson. Glenn Five is actually the 3rd bassist for Anvil, joining after the departure of Mike Duncan in 1996. The first album Glenn Five appeared on was Absolutely No alternative, released in 1997, a full 15 years after Metal On Metal! That being said, Glenn Five is a damn good bassist!
