Mat Price once again heads to the dome, this time to catch veteran metallers Anvil, and whilst not our normal thrash fair, they are adjacent enough for us to enjoy the riffs!! …. here’s what he thought of the show..

For a bit of transparency, I’ve listened to Anvil a lot more the last few years than I ever did before. Yet, here I am, with a sense of excitement, ready to put another tick on my gig bucket list. Another gig at the Dome and to see a band who should play much larger venues.

Anvil are one of those bands that get mentioned with reverence, like some hallowed tome, but have never reaped the rewards they should. The Dome is no stadium, but, perversely, it is the perfect venue to see such an act.

 First, though, we had the support, supplied by South London alt metal band Room 11.

I only found out who was playing before Anvil on the day, and I had no idea who they were and what they were about until the journey into London. Luckily, they opened with the one song I had committed to memory, Man On A Mission, so that was a good start. They share common ground with Royal Blood and Soft Play and yet stand completely apart.

One thing was certain, they had the crowd going from the off with their energetic set. Finishing with a rather pounding cover of the Basement Jaxx classic EDM single, Where’s Your Head At strangely got the whole room jumping. Fair play to Room 11, they got the party started.

Before Anvil had even started, the band were mingling with the crowd, and even when talking with some of the attendees, they all had a cool story about how they met Steve “Lips” Kudlow and the gang back in the day.

One thing is plainly evident, Anvil are an approachable and personal band. Hell, they don’t even need to bother with a stage backdrop. You know what’s coming and who’s providing it.

March Of The Crabs saw them kicking things off on stage, yet only Rob Reiner and Chris Robertson were on the stage. Steve was doing Steve things playing in the crowd while Chris was doing crab walks onstage, his bass thundering through the speakers.

 The trio were assembled for the second song, 666, and things became a show of quality.

Steve loves the stage. He loves playing on the stage. It’s obvious because he just could not stop grinning all the way through the night. Songs like Ooh Baby Baby and Winged Assassin bookmarked relatively newer tracks, such as the decriminalisation of weed in Canada anthem, Legal At Last and anti-media track, Truth Is Dying.

Steve’s banter is endearing, at one point sharing a coke story from 198 that involved Lemmy and a lost 24 hours before dedicating Free As The Wind to the rock ‘ n roll legend.

Anvil has so many strong tracks to pick from but it’s no surprise that the album Metal On Metal did the heavy lifting, with set finishers Jackhammer and, of course, Metal On Metal. judging by the average age of the audience, it was eagerly absorbed. It actually made me feel a bit young.

Before that, though, Rob had to have his time in the sun. Swing Thing is a fun instrumental that allows Rob to fully give the drumkit a proper workout. It was the highlight of my night.

Even with the last song still ringing in our ears, Steve wasted no time entering the crowd for selfies, autographs, or just to mix with his people. He’s the metal ambassador we never thought we needed until you see him.

On the way to the gig, I had a whole rant about how bands like Anvil are working their arses off for their art, whilst those that were inspired by them fly business class and fill stadiums. Although Anvil deserve that, and more, I don’t think you could ever truly see a band like this at such venues and walk away feeling you saw the true artists. The bottom line is, Anvil are metalheads themselves. They want everybody to party with them, and if you can’t party with those that love you, it’s not really a party worth going to.