Strength of Steel

AMG Review of Strength of Steel

Vincent Jeffries
All Music Guide

The first of two Anvil offerings originally released on Metal Blade, Strength of Steel signaled the decline of this once-promising Canadian outfit. The band's eroding commitment to heaviness may have been due to increasing commercial and legal concerns that followed their long period without a record contract. The second to last disc from Anvil to feature the Toronto act's original lineup, Strength of Steel is a collection of plodding, seriously fatigued metal. A comical video for "Mad Dog" brought Anvil some much needed MTV exposure, but like many Strength of Steel numbers, the song was so comical and cliché-ridden, very few fans in post-Metallica America could take it seriously. Although the group continued recording for over 15 years, it became clear after Strength of Steel that Anvil would never make a large dent in the metal marketplace.