Review Summary: The best Anvil in a decade by default
At the risk of sounding like an asshole, I can’t help but feel that Anvil hasn’t exactly made the most of the exposure they got from that documentary. The band certainly benefitted from some high-profile tours and 2011’s Juggernaut of Justice remains a surprisingly strong late era release, but subsequent efforts have seen them fell back on old habits. A couple bassists came and went while the recycled songwriting has made their reliable classic metal reflect more stagnancy than perseverance. Good will can only go far when there isn’t much substance to back it up.
Not to be confused with the Exodus album of the same name, Impact is Imminent manages to be one of Anvil’s more adventurous efforts in some time. It isn’t an innovative listen by any means, but it does feel like they’ve taken some of the more creative ideas from recent outings and put them to constructive use. Despite its hokey title, “Wizard’s Wand” makes better use of its Sabbath influence than anything from 2020’s Legal at Last ever did thanks to its stoner-friendly shuffle while the closing “Gomez” is a fun revisit of the big band meets metal sendup of “Swing Thing.”
Of course, this is still an Anvil album packed with their usual mix of blunt riffs and even blunter lyrics. Most of the songs still feel rather stock, especially since there are fourteen tracks with noticeably shorter lengths to consider, but there are some decent tracks to work with. “Take a Lesson” is a solid opener once you get past the congratulatory soundbite (I guess that’s one way to get a Dave Grohl cameo), benefitting from a sturdy mid-tempo chug and an impactful chorus, and I can get into the groove on “Another Gun Fight.” Inversely, hearing Lips directly reference COVID-19 on “Lockdown” might’ve made me die from secondhand cringe.
Whether it be through a little more focus or just my thoroughly diminished expectations, Impact is Imminent manages to be Anvil’s best album in at least a decade. The band’s same old strengths and weaknesses are on full display here, but there are just enough individual songs that manage to stand out a little more than usual. It’s not the sort of album that’ll convince their detractors but it’s a step above gaining fan acceptance for merely existing. I still think Juggernaut of Justice was a fluke, but some extra effort never hurts, even nineteen albums into your career.
