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I was surprised to see this album land in my inbox as it didn't seem like it had been that long since Legal at Last, but that was over two years ago. My sense of time has been completely messed up these past couple of years. Anyway, I've noticed that the band is getting a lot of hate by keyboard warriors whenever there's news about them lately, and this album won't change their minds as it's very much the kind of stuff you've come to expect from Anvil. All these years they've been releasing albums while other bands from the same era dropped out for a decade or two because "metal is dead," and said albums have been largely consistent, though, of course, some are better than others.

Impact is Imminent is not only classic Anvil, but it's one of the really good albums. They obviously have decent production budgets these days and the sound is clear and powerful—some of their older stuff would benefit from a rerecording under similar conditions. Love or hate Lips' vocal style, he's still in top shape here, belting out both silly and serious lyrics throughout, and some of that stuff will just stick in your head. The album is mostly very heavy and there are quite a few speedy tracks, though those who like the band's more mid-paced material will find something to like here. Lots of cool guitar work that just calls for the air guitar, and, of course, there are some drumming gems. Some notable tracks include "Someone to Hate," "Explosive Energy" and "The Rabbit Hole," while closer "Gomez" is a disposable instrumental that doesn't really fit with the rest, though it's different enough that it's worth hearing just for curiosity's sake. So, this is Anvil being Anvil and this album won't win over the haters, but Anvil fans will, of course, want this.