ABSTRACT
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008) and Last Days Here (2011) feature front-men of commercially unsuccessful metal groups, Steve Kudlow of Anvil and Bobby Liebling of Pentagram. Kudlow and Liebling make for unconventional star performers and music documentary subjects. When we think of the rock doc, titles like Don’t Look Back (1967), Stop Making Sense (1984) and Some Kind of Monster (2004) come to mind. These films feature celebrated musical performers. By contrast, Kudlow and Liebling, both in their fifties, are well beyond the age at which a successful career could have been realized. Nevertheless, they persist due to sheer passion and the refusal or inability to lead a more normal and modest life. This essay’s scope goes beyond heavy metal studies to consider intertextual dialogue with larger film genres and a critical and theoretical understanding of stardom and musical performance on film. In both respects, the emphasis of Anvil! and Last Days Here on belatedness and failure is particularly important. The essay explores these genre films, attending to elements of familiarity and difference regarding both the rock documentary and the musical biopic and the compelling and contrary idea of star personas who are relatively anonymous.
