ANVIL : Pounding The Pavement North American Tour
Concert review by Tim Duran
Over the years I have been graced to hear the noise of the Great White North by bands such as Triumph, Voi-Vod, RUSH, April Wine, and the almighty ANVIL ! These great groups have stood the tests of time as well as putting out timeless music. Anvil is still pounding the pavement and pounding our brains with their brand of Metal On Metal ! Tonight, Sunday March 31st the Anvil drops on the 172 Club inside the Rio Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada like a classic cartoon scene.
The warm up , Alex Cole and his band took the stage first. He looks like Neil Schon and plays like Ted Nugent . His mean sounding blues/rock trio let loose on his original sound and songs. Upon his playability like our Uncle Ted, his stage presence was all flash with the chops to pull it off.
Next up was the constant lashing from the Santa Cruz thrashing Archer Nation. What can I say that you haven’t already heard from me? Dylan Rose attacked his Epiphone Les Paul like a man out for vengeance and sang his heart out (literally) whilst Keyhan Moini destroyed the house kit (he’s now in debt with the club), and David DeSilva slapped, punched and plucked his bass to death! Their set was various selections from their new record, Beneath the Dream with an added bonus cover of “Tornado of Souls” by Megadeth. You’ve never seen so much hair flying since Stryper back in their hay-day.
After a brief comedy act by Don Jamieson of That Metal Show, the head banging hosers of Canada brought everyone to the stage, eh!
Starting off with killer licks, Lips stepped down to rip some riffs surrounded by the cheering crowd before breaking into the opening song, “666”. Bassist Chris Robertson was non-stop thumpin’ on his bass and Robb Reiner was a constant blur behind the kit. (I think Keyhan went to the same school of drumming).
The trio went on to hit the fans with favorites from years past to brand new bangers from their new record – Pounding the Pavement. In the middle of the set, we were all treated to a most excellent drum solo during the instrumental, “Swing Ting”. This metalized swing jazz tune showcased not only the talent of the three, but the versatility of these heavy metal performers mixing two wonderful genres in one song.
Pound for pound, these badass rock n’ rollers from the early 80’s have not lost an inch of agility and stage stamina in the near 40 years of monumental metal and they’re still going strong!
Also – special thanks to Tony Sgro at the 172 for allowing us to photograph the show.
Horror Metal Sounds 