Anvil have been on a rock 'n' roll journey for the past three decades, but it has become a very public rocket ride into the musical and pop culture stratosphere only recently. And that's their dedication to their music. Ever since the award-winning documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil propelled the Canadian band from their respectable, hard-earned status as a band revered by the likes of Metallica, Motorhead and Guns N' Roses, It's as though they truly have arrived with Juggernaut of Justice, their fourteenth studio album. Since 2009, the band have played almost every major European festival, landed opening slots on two US and one Canadian AC/DC shows that summer, one of which was performed in front of 55,000 screaming fans at Giants Stadium. Anvil also embarked on their first headline tour of America in 10 years, and headlined the main stage of Germany's Wacken, performing in front of 80,000 rabid metalheads. The band proves it has the goods with Juggernaut of Justice, which was recorded at Dave Grohl's studio in LA, as the Nirvana/Foo Fighters guru is a friend and fan. Producer Bob Marlette (Ozzy Osbourne, Marilyn Manson) manned the boards for an album that sounds like classic Anvil and is true-to-form. Reiner even went as far as to call it the best in the band's 33-year history, declaring that Lips sounds 20 years younger and it's fresh, clean, beautiful songs and playing that has the energy of 25-year-old kids . Juggernaut of Justice cycles through many moods and tempos. Swing Thing is the band's ambitious metal-jazz track, while Fukeneh! is an anthem that is concert hall ready. Paranormal is what Reiner refers to as the ballad, thanks to its heavy, soulful, Sabbathian vibe. It's a powerful, evil song and that energy is very new for Anvil, the drummer said. Speed metal thrashers like When Hell Breaks Loose and Running also live on Juggernaut of Justice, while New Orleans Voodoo is, according to Reiner, a downtime pounder. Overall, Kudlow and Reiner are adamant that there is no doom 'n' gloom present on Juggernaut. It's heavy and positive, which isn't common in a lot of hard rock music.
