![]() ![]() Bassist and de facto newcomer to the fold Chris Robertson showcases a charming mixture of Geezer Butler-like flash combined with a Lemmy Kilmister sense of raunchiness throughout the album, with his biggest standout moments occurring on the humorously dubbed upbeat blues rock instrumental “Teabag” and the speed metal-infused kill session “Bad Side Of Town”. In most respects, “Impact Is Imminent” proves a quintessential display of the power trio format within a heavy metal context, as Reiner is not alone in showcasing his technical chops. ![]() Rounding out the impressive trifecta that adorns this extensive LP’s beginning is the slower shuffling crusher “Another Gun Fight”, which sees a riveting, fill-crazed performance by drummer Robb Reiner that reaffirms that next step in the evolutionary chain from John Bonham that originally helped set Anvil apart from the pack. Things take on an even more vicious, borderline speed/thrash flavor with the onset of the blistering riff monster “Ghost Shadow”, taking some cues from Exciters and Metallicas that they originally inspired when they first hit the scene at the dawn of the 1980s. ![]() It proves a fitting sonic prologue as opening anthem “Take A Lesson” has all of the organic intensity of a live performance on stage that has been given a stellar coat of post-production paint as it lays down a heavy yet straightforward metallic foundation for what is to come. Naturally any raucous occasion deserves a correspondingly boisterous introduction, and this album pulls no punches by throwing a sampled spoken inspirational bit dedicated to the band by none other than David Grohl from one of their live appearances to kick things off. Barring a few stints into more thrashing territory here and there, they’re sound has generally stuck about as close to older hard rock and blues influences that as the likes of Diamond Head and Motorhead while still occasionally dabbling in more frenetic territory, and their latest studio installment “Impact Is Imminent” is no exception. Such is the same modus operandi that typified the late 70s and early 80s purveyors of the NWOBHM that were Anvil’s contemporaries as they took the roots of earlier rock styles and distilled the most aggressive and raw elements until something altogether distinct emerged. In truth, were baseball legend Yogi Berra to have given his take on their sound, he’d have said they just rocked too hard to be hard rock. This leads Kudlow, in his stream-of-consciousness patter familiar to "Anvil!" fans, into an enthusiastic discussion of the history of rock, metal and jazz drumming, his favorite and least favorite drummers and a conclusion that "most people do not know what good drumming is." At one point he flashes a temper that occasionally came out in the film, when briefly dressing down his interviewer for not having heard of Vinny Appice.Sometimes the best way to leave an impression is to take a sledgehammer to things, and for more than 40 years this has been Canadian heavy metal pioneering act Anvil’s approach to expanding the definition of rock. It's more like, 'Oh, this is really interesting now, what if I go really fast picking this thing and you follow with the kick-drums?' It was more about experimentation - 'let's try this.'" That's why we're doing things like playing 16th and 32nd notes with the guitar and the drums, things that no one had done previously, and that's where people go, 'Hey, man, you discovered speed metal!' Well, it's not speed metal from our perspective. "That's what Anvil is, it's about the combination of guitar-playing and drumming. ![]()
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