Anvil - Back To Basics

*=Staff's pick	Fuel For The Fire Keep It Up Song Of Pain You Get What You Pay For The Chainsaw Can't Catch Me Go Away Bottom Feeder Cruel World Fast Driver

Genre	Heavy Metal	Lips	Vocals
Tracks	10	Lips	Guitar
Runningtime	43 Min.	Ivan Hurd	Guitar
Label	Massacre Records	Glenn Five	Bass
Release	29 March 2004	Robb Reiner	Drums
Country	Canada	-	Keyboards
Similar artists	---

Is this a joke? I have not been into Anvil the past 15 odd years, but in the beginning of their long running carer, they released some decent heavy metal albums, namingly Metal On Metal, Forged In Fire and Strenght Of Steel. But this is just.... utter crap. If this is the result of the development they have undertaken lately, I am honestly glad I have been missing out on them until now, because it's nothing but a total waste of time listening to this.

In an attempt to play "back to the roots" heavy metal of the 80's, we get simple tracks of highly average standards, even for the standards of two decades ago, and riffs that are so weak and thin that they are barely stumbling forward, and refrains that are embarrassing to listen to, and that impression is only enhanced by the fact that what Lips is conducting, I am not sure can be called "singing". The man can't hold many notes, and the vocals are shaky and weak.

Keep It Up and You Get What You Pay For are really among the worst I have heard from, what I assume, is a band that is sincere in playing metal/rock. The songs The Chainsaw and Can't Catch Me furthermore contain so lousy choruses that you might think this is a rehearsal by a few friends at your local office for the upcoming annual party at the company. There might be one, or at most two, riffs that are acceptable, but that is honestly it. The rest just keeps reaching one low watermark after the other until the very end. Cross my heart - Spinal Tap have released way better songs then Bottom Feeder on this album.

I have frenetically searched the net in order to find somewhere where it says that this is in fact a prank album, made for fun, but since I so far have found no such information, I have to accept that a band today can release something like this and still keep a straight and serious face. Avoid this.

See also review of: Pounding The Pavement , Anvil Is Anvil , Hope In Hell , Still Going Strong

Production	Vocals	Compositions
7	2,5	1

Summary
1 chalice of 10 - Tommy