Photo by KLowe Photography

.

.

Anvil are a band that have truly experienced harsh realities of the music industry, choosing to persevere where many others would have given up. 40 years on, they are still touring and releasing studio albums; Album #18 Pounding the Pavement is due for release in 2018! They have spent the bulk of 2017 touring around the globe in celebration of their 40^th anniversary. They played their 200^th and final show in Perth on a sleepy Tuesday night. A small, but dedicated crowd turned up to the Rosemount Hotel to see the legends in action.

.

Death Dependant- Photo by Karen Lowe

.

Opening act Death Dependant clearly wear their 80’s thrash metal influences on their sleeves, right down to  Mark  Antonov’s Hetfield-esq enunciation. They had the difficult task of opening to a near empty room, and they did their best, but their aggressive stage demeanor at times bordered on abuse which is never an effective tactic to get people on your side.

Perth metal scene veterans Psychonaut immediately blew the gig goers away with their technical thrash metal featuring shredding guitar solo’s so fast that Mark De Vattimo’s fingers appeared to blur. Despite Simon Hallet’s observation that tonight’s audience was a “Tough Crowd”, they continued to pour everything they had into their explosive performance.

.

Mark De Vattimo (Psychonaut)- Photo by Karen Lowe

.

Cheers of excitement filled the venue as Anvil entered the building and front-man Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow walked straight off the stage and into the crowd, personally interacting with as many people as possible while tearing through March of the Crabs. The intimate interactions did not cease upon Kudlow’s return to the stage, with all band members acknowledging gig goers through direct eye contact and wide smiles. Anvil’s stage banter is very conversational. After requesting a show of hands indicating who had seen their 2009 documentary Anvil: The Story of Anvil, Kudlow commented that he wasn’t sure whether he should be happy or scared that everyone in attendance had seen it due to his naked appearance.

.

Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow- Photo by KLowe Photography

.

While some have described Anvil’s song writing as one dimensional and cheesy, the fans wouldn’t have it any other way, break-neck headbanging all night long. This reputation of ‘big dumb fun’ hides the fact that they are all very talented musicians, which  becomes blindingly apparent in the live setting. Rob Reiner’s extended drum solo during Swing Thing was a wonder to watch and Kudlow’s guitar solo incorporating a women’s vibrator during Mothra entertained the crowds.

Kudlow, Reiner and Chris Robertson clearly love what they do and you can’t help but react respond with pure happiness to the positive energy that radiates off them. Unsurprisingly, main set closer, Metal on Metal received one of the biggest responses of the night. After leaving the stage for a brief moment, the boy’s returned to finish up with a very metal cover of Steppenwolf’s Born to be wild.

.

Anvil- Photo by KLowe Photography

.

.

SET LIST

1. March of the Crabs

2. School Love

3. Ooh Baby

4. Badass Rock ‘n’ Roll

5. Free as the Wind

6. Running

7. On Fire

8. This Is Thirteen

9. Mothra

10. Swing Thing

11. Metal on Metal

Encore:

12. Born to Be Wild

.

AMNPLIFY – DB