In the ’90s, when Sacha Gervasi climbed onto the tour bus of the Canadian heavy metal band Anvil, he knew he was following a band that he loved. He didn’t know that he would later shoot a documentary portraying them. Nor did he know that 14 years later, that film would see a digital resurgence on streaming sites and be re-released in theaters.

“Anvil! The Story of Anvil” tells the survival story of rock legends Steve “Lips” Kudlow, the band’s spirited guitarist and lead vocalist, and Robb Reiner, the band’s drummer. The film is directed by their old friend and fan Gervasi, whom they fondly refer to as “Teabag.” It is a rockumentary that begins at Super Rock ’85 in Japan, where Anvil plays alongside the likes of Bon Jovi, Whitesnake and Scorpions.

The film then catapults forward to the early 2000s, at a time when Reiner and Lips are struggling in their day jobs in Canada. Reiner worked in construction, while Lips drove catering trucks. They’re blue collars by day and heavy metal by night. Their 15 minutes of fame from the ’80s is a distant memory, but Anvil refuses to give up their dream of producing music.

“It’s what we’ve been given — the will to survive against all odds,” Lips told WSN. “And there it is being filmed in real time. It’s not a typical documentary.”

Although the film was selected for the Sundance Film Festival in 2008, it did not enjoy great financial success. The band, however, found new momentum: Lips and Reiner quit their day jobs and didn’t look back.

Lips credits Anvil’s success to Gervasi, the film’s director, who followed the band on tour throughout the ’90s. Gervasi was only a teenage roadie when he met Lips and Reiner, who were in their early 20s. Two Anvil songs were written about Gervasi — “Gomez” and “Teabag.”

Gervasi had not spoken with his old Anvil pals for 20 years when he came up with the premise of “Anvil! The Story of Anvil.” The director climbed back on the Anvil tour bus, and the rest is history.

“I mean, me and the film crew, we lived what the band was living,” Gervasi told WSN. “There’s a certain amount of luck. There’s a ton of perseverance. We, the film people, took a massive lesson from Anvil on what it takes to get things across the line.”

The wheels on the tour bus, and those of the film, never stop. “Anvil!” returned to theaters on Sept. 13 of this year. Gervasi said he was inspired to re-release the film following a positive response from his godson.

“He knew his mum and I had made this film when he was 4 or 5, and then he brought his friends and they started freaking out,” Gervasi said. After his godson was separated from friends by the pandemic, Gervasi said the film was a source of hope and inspiration for him.

Gervasi hopes that “Anvil!” will gain traction with younger audiences more broadly, in the same way that it did with his godson.

“Some NYU kids came last night,” Gervasi said of a recent screening. “Of those eight, three of them are buying Spirit Airlines tickets to fly to LA. to see the band and the movie again because they’re playing live. The fact that it’s inspiring kids to fly coast to coast to see this movie — it feels pretty good.” 

Anvil continues to find fans — it’s “Almost Famous” for a new generation. As the band satisfies old-school fans while bringing in new ones, there are lessons for all of us in Anvil’s story. Keep rocking, even if no one is listening.

Contact Caitlyn McConnell at [email protected].