Hammer of the Gods: Anvil's Heavy Metal Bromance

We talk to the two most unlikely movie stars of 2009: 'Lips' Kudlow and Robb Reiner of the critically and publicly adored rockumentary 'Anvil! The Story of Anvil'

MSN Music

"Metal on metal/It's the only way/To hell with tomorrow/Let's live for today" -- Anvil, "Metal on Metal"

For the past 25 years, Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner, the core members of the Canadian speed metal act known as Anvil, have been bashing their heads against the corporate music fortress. They headlined festivals in the '80s with Metallica, not that you'd know unless you read the fine print in Circus magazine. They've recorded 13 albums, not that any were released by a major label. In fact, unless you lived in tiny, smoky, sweaty metal clubs every night in Canada or Europe -- the only place the aging rockers could land gigs for the past few decades -- you wouldn't have heard of Anvil at all. They were simply a footnote in heavy metal history, known for a small hit called "Metal on Metal" and a quick vanishing act.

Well, until about a month or so ago.

That's when "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" (best rock doc title EVER), directed by the band's longtime friend, Sacha Gervasi, bull-rushed the national consciousness. It first gained word of mouth (more like mumbling) last year when it hit the small film festival circuit. Then the mumbles became full-throated roars following debuts in Los Angeles and New York. And now it is opening slowly around the country, and, every place it plays, critics are heaping praise, while crowds are selling out theaters. It's quite simply the best reviewed and most loved film of the young year.

"Anvil!" presents two men, lifelong friends, who refuse to give up their dream of climbing to the top and becoming rock 'n' roll gods, regardless of family, personal and financial damage and, well, humiliation. But here is the amazing part: When you watch the film, it plays a bit like an examination of stubborn, borderline insane self-delusion: There is no way these 50-year-old Toronto rockers will EVER find a new audience in this new decade. Who are they kidding? You first laugh at their perseverance, then wince through some of the worst tours you have ever seen, and finally weep at their futility and inability to let the past die. At points you want to scream at the screen, "Give it up! Drive a cab! Anything, please! I can't watch you play for four people in a club any longer! It hurts!"

And yet, here is the great joke. Because of this film, Anvil has made it, exactly how they planned to make it in the movie. Except they parlayed the movie itself into their success, which has opened doors for what they really care making it as rock stars, not movie stars. They are touring in support of the film. They are finding new audiences. In the past three months, they've signed a management deal and taken on agency reps that support artists like Coldplay, Eminem and Black Sabbath. Where they were laughed out of record company buildings, now three companies are bidding for the "Anvil!" soundtrack. Their 13th (!!) album, "This Is Thirteen" (ahhhh! You can't make this stuff up, people!), is selling out everywhere, and the "boys" are about to make their 14th record. If they call it "This Is Fourteen," they are officially the greatest rock band in history.

Recently, MSN had a chance to talk to "Lips," the fast-talking maniac of a front man as the band's singer and guitarist, and Reiner, a quiet, calm drummer, about their new success, about their families, and, yes, about all of the Spinal Tap references scattered throughout the film:

MSN Music: So, guys, this experience must be a whirlwind.

Robb Reiner: Yeah, at this point, that is almost an understatement.

When this was being made, did you have any idea of the success it would create or critical acclaim it would receive? Could you possibly have imagined this?

RR: At first, we hoped it would do tremendous things, and it has exceeded all of our expectations. It is totally surreal. I am [expletive] blown away by what is going on.

"Lips" Kudlow: It's great because we're being discovered and rediscovered all in one go. How could we not be enjoying this?

You did so much painstaking work in the movie to get recognized that it is perfect that the film itself has lead to that.

LK: True, but we've also been doing this our whole lives. We've been rocking our asses off for 30 years.

Next page: Seeing the finished film and Spinal Tap comparisons