Take one look at the recent Soundchecks from Germany's finest metal mags and Anvil's welcome appears to have been worn out in a country where old school power metal is as easy to sell as hefeweizen. On these shores, where patience is a little thinner, we've been crying foul long before Back To Basics, as the line of substandard releases slowly tarnishes Anvil's reputation and makes it more difficult to reach for their two molten metal masterpieces, Metal On Metal and Forged In Fire. 2004 see the local Toronto lads in yet another sad, dizzying state of musical disarray. The production, or lack thereof is muddy and rushed, surprising as Pierre Remillard used his state-of-the-art Wild Studio in St. Zenon, Quebec, where Kataklysm recorded their latest piece of mastery, Serenity In Fire. Don't let the artwork fool you, as this book cannot be judged by the atypical cover. 'Keep It Up' (a rather uninventive tune about Viagra) has a horribly out-of-tune chorus line - hell, Lips' lungs have seen better days. 'Song Of Pain', almost Megadeth in feel, is by far the most palatable cut on Back To Basics, Anvil actually constructing a beefy tune, albeit a tad on the ballad side. The passable 'Bottom Feeder' and upbeat 'Fast Driver' would have benefited by being bumped up closer to the front of this caustic collection. 'Can Catch Me' and the plain preschool 'Go Away' would have been chopped from Hard N' Heavy. 'The Chainsaw' is full of spite and spit until the outright 'Rapid Fire' ripoff ensues ... you sit puzzled as your jaw hits the floor. Quickly you reach for the liner notes and see if they credit Priest, and alas no. Ha! Shame on you. 'You Get What You Pay For' is just plain ironic ... only if you downloaded this from the net for free. So what's the problem? The metal scene in Canada has upped the ante with a number of up 'n' coming acts that continue to push stubborn, old school acts under the carpet. Fresh, innovative ideas in all forms, black, prog, power and death metal run rampant and it's quite easy to hear what the "competition" are up to and rise to those standards. Anvil are locked in their own personal time machine where nothing outside their world seems to matter or move them. It's time to see the light of 2004 boys cuz Back To Basics is hardly compelling.