ANVIL, the Canadian heavy metal band whose “Cinderella” story, “Anvil! The Story of Anvil,” is nominated for a Critics Choice Movie Award in the category of Best Documentary, will travel to Los Angeles to attend the awards presentation that will be held at the Hollywood Palladium this Friday, January 15. The rockumentary has been named one of 2009’s Best Documentaries by a slew of film critics associations across the continent, including critics in Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, and Las Vegas, as well as the International Documentary Association, the Online Film Critics Society, and the National Society of Film Critics. It also made the Year End Top Ten lists in publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, and Village Voice. The 15th Annual Critics Choice Movie Awards will be broadcast January 15 live on VH1 at 9PM ET/PT.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that the trip to Los Angeles means Anvil, who kicked off its “The Anvil Experience” North American tour in Cleveland, OH last week, will have to cancel its January 14 date in Baltimore, MD and the New York City date set for January 15. But, it’s not all bad news as the New York date has been rescheduled to take place on Friday, March 19, still at The Gramercy Theatre, still with an 8PM show time. Tickets purchased for the 1/15 show will be honored on 3/19.

And there’s more ANVIL tour news. Originally, “The Anvil Experience” concerts were going to open with a screening of the “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” documentary followed by the band playing a live set. However, according to Anvil’s guitarist/vocalist Steve “Lips” Kudlow, “We’ve been so fortunate with the success of the film and then the DVD, so many people have already seen it, so we’ve decided that this tour is going to be all about the music, we’re just going to play our set, and just ROCK with the fans. ‘The Anvil Experience’ will be an evening of pure, unadulterated rock’n'roll.” Local bands will open the shows.

The 27-date concert tour – the band’s first major tour in more than a decade – is in support of “Anvil! The Story of Anvil,” as well as the band’s latest album, This Is Thirteen which one rock critic called “Anvil’s “best record in over two decades.”

Confirmed dates for “The Anvil Experience” are as follows:

JANUARY
7 House of Blues, Cleveland, OH
8 Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ONT CANADA
9 Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac, MI
10 House of Blues, Chicago, IL
12 Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY
16 House of Blues, Boston, MA
17 Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA
19 The Fillmore, Charlotte, NC
20 Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
21 House of Blues, Lake Buena Vista, FL
23 House of Blues, New Orleans, LA
24 House of Blues, Houston, TX
25 Emo’s, Austin, TX
26 House of Blues, Dallas, TX
29 The Pageant, St. Louis, MO
30 The Riot Room, Kansas City, MO
31 Gothic Theatre, Denver, CO

FEBRUARY
2 Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ
3 House of Blues, San Diego, CA
4 House of Blues, Anaheim, CA
5 House of Blues, Los Angeles, CA
6 The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
9 Knitting Factory, Spokane, WA
11 Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
12 Studio Seven, Seattle, WA
13 Venue Vancouver, Vancouver, BC CANADA

MARCH
19 The Gramercy Theatre, New York, NY

Anvil - the “Rocky Balboa of Metal” – is set to launch their first major tour in more than a decade – “The Anvil Experience” – a full-on, 30-date North American trek in support of both the September 15 release of their most recent CD, This is Thirteen (VH1 Classic Records), and the October 6 DVD release of Anvil! The Story of Anvil (VH1 Films). The tour kicks off in earnest on January 7, 2010 in the city of rock ‘n’ roll, Cleveland, Ohio, will include dates in New York and Los Angeles, and will culminate in Vancouver on February 13.

But this will not be any ordinary concert tour, as audience members will be treated to a screening of Anvil! The Story of Anvil, before the group – singer/guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow, drummer Robb Reiner, and bassist Glenn Five – will take the stage for a set of heavy Anvil classics.

And if that’s not enough metal for you, well, the lads are prepared. For the serious metalhead, a limited number of 50 “VIP Anvil Experience” packages will be made available for each show, which includes a ticket to the concert, a copy of the This is Thirteen CD, a copy of the Anvil! The Story of Anvil DVD, a fanny pack (a constant fashion companion of Reiner’s as seen in the film), and a meet ‘n’ greet with the band. Pre-sale tickets go on sale Tuesday, October 6, with the regular on-sale starting Friday, October 9. See below** for full details.

Of This is Thirteen, one rock critic called it Anvil’s “best record in over two decades.” And if you haven’t already seen Anvil! The Story of Anvil, you’re missing out on what will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest – and certainly most honest and realistic – rock docs of all time. Don’t believe us? Here’s some proof from those who caught earlier Anvil Experience showings: “Fantastic! Definitely the best concert I’ve ever seen in a movie theatre” (Tal Pinchevsky/New York Post). “Such a great movie, and the performance was fantastic. Great idea to have the guys there” (Claudia Acosta/ABC World News). The Anvil Experience is guaranteed to go down as one of the top metal events of 2010 – get ready for some true “Metal on Metal!”

** VH1 Fan Club Pre-Sale – Tuesday, October 6 at 10AM to Thursday, October 8 at 10PM (local time) – hosted on Ticketmaster
Password is METALONMETAL
Live Nation Pre-Sale – Wednesday, October 7 at 10AM to Thursday, October 8 at 10PM (local time)
Public On-Sale date is Friday, October 9, 10AM (local time)

Confirmed dates for The Anvil Experience are as follows:

JANUARY
7 House of Blues, Cleveland, OH
8 Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ONT CANADA
9 Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac, MI
10 House of Blues, Chicago, IL
12 Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY
14 Sonar, Baltimore, MD
15 Irving Plaza, New York, NY
16 House of Blues, Boston, MA
17 Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA
19 The Fillmore, Charlotte, NC
20 Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
21 House of Blues, Lake Buena Vista, FL
23 House of Blues, New Orleans, LA
24 House of Blues, Houston, TX
25 Emo’s, Austin, TX
26 House of Blues, Dallas, TX
29 The Pageant, St. Louis, MO
30 The Beaumont, Kansas City, MO
31 Gothic Theatre, Denver, CO

FEBRUARY
2 Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ
3 House of Blues, San Diego, CA
4 House of Blues, Anaheim, CA
5 House of Blues, Los Angeles, CA
6 The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
8 Knitting Factory, Boise, ID
9 Knitting Factory, Spokane, WA
11 Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
12 Studio Seven, Seattle, WA
13 Venue Vancouver, Vancouver, BC CANADA

Certainly one of the most feel-good rock n’ roll comeback stories of recent times is that of Canadian heavy metal band Anvil. The band, considered a major influence for a generation of hard rockers including Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, and Guns N’ Roses, was the subject of a critically acclaimed, must-see rock-doc, ‘Anvil! The Story of Anvil,’ directed by Sacha Gervasi. And in the process, the film has made the group (led by singer/guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner – both founding members) a household name. But the group’s story will certainly not end with the film.

First up for Anvil are U.S. shows opening for Aussie rock legends AC/DC – in football stadiums. We’re really excited about these shows, we’ve only heard awesome things about playing in football stadiums. I was with the Green Day guys last night, and they were telling me, ‘Man, it’s probably going to be the gig of your life’!”

And then on September 15, This is Thirteen will finally see proper national distribution on CD and vinyl via VH1 Classic Records. The CD will feature the newly recorded, never-before released bonus track “Thumb Hang.” The collectible double vinyl LP boasts newly re-recorded versions of Anvil classics “Metal on Metal” and “666.” The album, originally recorded in 2007 and produced by Chris Tsangarides (Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy), was primarily available directly from the band via their website and at their concerts.

“‘This is Thirteen’ is more like our first three albums,” says Lips, “which represent our real identity. For many of our albums, we went on an ‘integrity hunt’ instead of on a ‘commercial/radio hunt,’ so we became extremely inaccessible to radio. This time, we stepped back and said, ‘What were we originally?’ And we rediscovered ourselves, I suppose.” Reiner adds, “There are three tracks that in my opinion, are definitely, 100% AOR/hard rock/commercial radio tracks – ‘American Refuge,’ ‘Flying Blind,’ and ‘Feed the Greed.’ Catchy melodies, incredible drum feels – they just all rock.”

The title track is about as classic Anvil as you can get – that slow, powerful, heavy backbeat with cool changes. The violent-sounding “Bombs Away” is, according to Reiner, “the almightiest metal track on the entire record,” “Ready to Fight” is pure speed rock ‘n roll – Nugent on steroids – that boasts super-heavy drumming, and “Big Business” is akin, musically-speaking, to Cream’s classic “Sunshine of Your Love.” And then there’s the true classic, Anvil near-anthem, “Shoulda’ Woulda’ Coulda’,” that’s about living life with no regrets.

Reiner points out that the input from acclaimed producer Tsangarides (who produced early Anvil albums) was a major reason for This is Thirteen turning out the way it did. “The last four or five albums, material-wise, were all similar. We had been trying to find the direction back to the classic Anvil style and sound – it’s just that the production hadn’t been up to scratch. Chris was a big missing part on our past albums.”

Despite some zany Spinal Tap-like parallels between Anvil and David St. Hubbins and company in the film, Anvil has always been taken seriously by metalheads, including some very well known rock stars, who praise the band in the film. “Anvil was one of those bands that just put on this really amazing live performance,” said Velvet Revolver/ex-Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, while Motorhead singer/bassist Lemmy added, “They were a great band – I always liked Anvil,” and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich gushed, “These guys were going to turn the music world upside down.”

So, the AC/DC dates, the release of This is Thirteen, what else can fans expect from Anvil in the future? Lips was willing to provide a hint: “Working. More recording. More gigs. More – more than ever!”

AC/DC DATES:
JULY
28 Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
31 Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

AUGUST
6 Magnetic Hill, Moncton, New Brunswick CANADA