Typically I wouldn't mention a metal-based movie here, but seeing as this was being screened at a local concert venue, it seemed only fair to mention, especially with the lack of metal shows at The Grand since last spring! After all, when's the last time a heavy metal band played at Galaxy Cinema? Looks about the same as it did from the previous concerts I've seen there, just with the fancy tables back out on the floor to accommodate moviegoers. No popcorn for sale, but they did have pop, alcohol, and chips, so we weren't emptyhanded! I chose the balcony to see the movie, it seemed more "normal" compared to looking up at the screen from the floor. What surprised me was when we were waiting for the movie start, a nice lady from the staff came around and gave everyone there a free bowl of pretzels! And, cause the movie was on a Blu-Ray disc, there wasn't 20 minutes of trailers! Don't see either of those at Galaxy, do you? However, the crowd was very small, if there was a dozen paid moviegoers there, I'd be surprised.
As for Anvil itself, what a good movie! It was, as you may know, a documentary about Toronto metal legends Anvil, who influenced numerous metal bands in the early 1980s, yet never became mega-stars. It primarily focused on founding members Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner, who, through it all, still love to play their music and continue striving to achieve their dreams of making it big, even while entering their early 50s. Now working normal day jobs, they still play to diehard, but small, crowds as often as possible. The movie details how they went on an extensive European tour that turned into a comedy of errors, later exploring Steve and Robb's daily lives, what went wrong in their careers, and their efforts to make a new studio album with star producer Chris Tsangarides, finance it on limited income, and shop it to mostly uninterested record labels. While the movie has a lot of humour and great music, it also has a lot of sad moments. You can tell that the members of Anvil love their music, and would do whatever it takes to get back to their old glories. From the faults of their tour, to the smaller than hoped crowds, to the band's internal struggles, you feel it when they pour their heart out or get into a spat over their music and career. Though I'm not the best person to say this, it really does show the effort and drive it takes to make it in music, even when no doors appear to open in your favour.It doesn't hurt either that I like Anvil as a band, but even if I didn't, I'd still like and appreciate Anvil! The Story of Anvil. Part of me did expect more humour, but what was presented was genuine, and you really felt like you knew the guys in the band at the end. Like how I don't grade CDs or concerts, I won't grade the movie, but to copy Siskel and Ebert, I will definitely give this movie a thumbs up! Buy this if you see it in stores!!! And if a movie comes back to The Grand that may interest you, check it out, they really are nice there, and you may get free pretzels too!
Now, back to local metal bands, or in this case, one musician! I have a new local act to add to the band listings on the SMS, and like 20 Pack of Marshmallows from yesterday, this act is one I've bypassed in previous months for not being sure of their metalness. Do you know of Sault Michigan death metal band Slackjawed Rats? Well, as you may know, their frontman Mike Libertoski has wrote and recorded solo material (you may remember him as part of the lineup on a Half Stupid concert last year!) And as it turns out, a lot more of it is metal than I'd figured! While his concerts tend to skew more towards acoustic prog rock, he has released no less than SIX SOLO ALBUMS that feature a high dose of heavy material! On his MySpace page, he mentioned that he aims to include songs of all genres on his solo material, which is good, diversity is always welcome! And you did hear that right, he has at least 6 albums, the most recent of which (I think) is "In The Arms Of The Condemned" from last year! His solo albums are primarily instrumental, though one, 2007's "The Great Movement", did feature vocals.To put it mildly, Mike is a great guitarist, he can play almost anything, and he has a wide skillset! Accomplished guitarist, and he also plays numerous other instruments too! I'd like to see him play some more shows, possibly electric ones too! I'd love to get my hands on his albums, maybe Grooves Music or somewhere online carries them! Check out more from Mike at his official MySpace page and his YouTube channel, or head to his band Slackjawed Rats' page to hear some solid death metal too! Here's hoping one or both play some shows soon! I'll make sure to cover Mike's solo stuff from here on out! And to give you a preview, here's one of his heavier solo songs, "Glasgow Smile"!
Once I found out that Mike Libertoski had so many albums, it jogged my memory as to the local metal albums I'm still on the lookout for. So I figured I'd put out another open call for anyone to help me find these albums to help fill out my local band CD stockpile, or at least get the mp3s from them! IF YOU HAVE, OR KNOW SOMEONE WITH THESE CDS, LET ME KNOW! I'd love to have a copy or the mp3s for future SMS reviews, and possibly upload online to give the bands well deserved exposure! So here's what else I'm still on the lookout for:
As It Stands - Kill The Music, Save The Children: Contacting band members about getting their only EP release has been fruitless so far, so I'll put out the call again! Released in 2007, the EP featured 5 tracks, and is out of print. No sites online is actively selling it (The only site that I thought did isn't active), and only one song, "Bush Raids", was streamable online at last search. Any help finding this album would be much appreicated!
Foothill Road - Either of their albums: The locally based hard rock band from the 1990s released two albums: One was self-titled, the other was named "Seventy". And tracking down either has proven to be easier said than done! The songs on their MySpace page are very solid, makes me wish I was old enough to experience them way back when! Anyone know how I could get these albums?
Harsh Heads - First Hated, Then Forgotten: They were a local punk/hardcore band from the early-mid 1990s, though they didn't release their demos into CD form until 2005. I won't say too much about them yet (I haven't even profiled them properly on the SMS yet! That'll be in my next post!) But let me just say this: They're metal enough for the SMS, and I'd love to get this CD!
Infrastrate - Phase I: Commencement: Still have had no luck finding this, the only album release by the originally Sault-based hard rockers Infrastrate. They recorded and released this album after they moved to Ottawa in the mid-2000s, and only some of the album's songs are streamable online. It'd be great to find a copy of their CD, they were a good band!
If you guys can help me get these, or ANY local metal/hard rock CD/album releases, LET ME KNOW! There's likely others I'm not aware of, so if you know of a metal/hard rock/hardcore/grunge album that I don't, TELL ME!!!!!
Speaking of stuff from inactive bands, I've found a real gem of a local metal video to cap off tonight's post! This comes from the YouTube channel of local bassist Mike Mannarino (Tripod The Dog), from one of his old metal bands, Genghis Khan! This clip is of Genghis Khan covering the Racer X song "Scarified" from a show at The Eastgate presumably from the early 1990s! There is audio of these guys online, thanks to drummer Glen Thomas' YouTube account, but this is the first actual video I've seen! And I like what I'm seeing here, this is a hard song to play and they did awesome! You don't see stuff like this often! Check out the clip below, thanks to Mike for the upload!
I'll leave it at that for tonight, my next post will include info on Harsh Heads, a Woods of Ypres update, and hopefully much more! Stay tuned, thanks everyone!
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