Life has not been kind to Canadian metal veterans Anvil. Despite mad respect from their 1980s peers and a brief blip of hair-era popularity (during which they played some massive headbanging shows in Europe and released the then-brutally heavy and influential Metal on Metal), the scrappy rockers have had a rough go of it. But thanks to the hit indie documentary "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" — which, if you haven't seen it, is exactly like "This Is Spinal Tap," except funnier and with real dudes — the band is suddenly flying high.

And things just got a bit better. Hard rock icons AC/DC have tapped Anvil to open a pair of stadium shows for them this summer in Boston (Gillette Stadium, July 28) and New Jersey (Giants Stadium, July 31).

According to a press release about the gig, "Anvil band members Steve 'Lips' Kudlow and Robb Reiner will see their dreams come true as they are set to open for one of the greatest hard rock bands in the world, AC/DC, for the two biggest shows on their Black Ice World Tour. This opportunity marks a stellar comeback for the 30 year-old band that continues to reach new heights with the success and continued expansion of their documentary and recent features in Newsweek and Rolling Stone."

Thanks to the success of the movie, Anvil are back on the road and have played more than two dozen "Anvil Experience" dates so far this year, which combine live concerts with screenings of the movie. Multiple big name fans have come out of the woodwork to praise them. One of the more unlikely supporters is Coldplay's Chris Martin, who gave them major props in a recent interview on his band's Web site, in which he called the movie, "brilliant … wonderful."

There aren't many feel good stories in music these days, but this is one of them. If you love music — especially if it's loud — you owe it to yourself to check these guys out.

By John Ochoa

It seems like a case of déjà vu for Slipknot.

In July, the metal band's DJ Sid Wilson broke both his heels when jumping off the stage during the launch of the Rockstar Energy Mayhem fest. Today, Slipknot announced that they have been forced to cancel their slots at the Leeds and Reading festivals, as well as their remaining European dates, after drummer Joey Jordison broke his ankle. No word on whether this, too, was the result of an energetic stage performance.

According to a statement posted on the band's MySpace page, "doctors have advised Joey to stay off his leg for four to six weeks to prevent further injury or permanent and more serious damage."

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When it comes to heavy metal — specifically grindcore, black metal and death metal — the rule of thumb is generally the more illegible, the better. In a sense, these logos, which often include at least one inverted cross or a pentagram, are actually anti-logos. Still, fans snatch up T-shirts like nobody's business so they can proudly display these indecipherable logos across their chests.

While there are innumerable bands who embrace this trend, some have taken things way too far, with logos that look more like a scribble you'd find in a bored 8-year-old's notebook. Our friends over at the Headbangers Blog have found enough material there to churn out the "Indecipherable Logo of the Day." We don't have the patience for that, so we're giving you our 10 favorite metal logos, but if you know of one that puts these to shame, let us know about it in the comments section.

10. Borknagar: This Norwegian band combines folk metal and black metal with progressive and melodic elements. The lyrics often touch on philosophy, paganism, nature and the cosmos.

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OK, we get it: you're into some heavy business. On that tip, we're taking you deeper into the black-metal experience, with the down-and-dirty -- and pretty terrifying -- video series "True Norwegian Black Metal" photog Peter Beste made with VBS. It's wild to think that a trip to Milwaukee Metalfest to snap some band pics could have unfolded into a years-long obsession with this outrageous crew.

Head to Norway and meet up with the key players on this deadly-dark scene -- first covered in the mainstream Norwegian press in the mid-90's in relation to a dozen church burnings, and the ritualistic murder of Mayhem's guitarist by his bandmate. Central to the series is Gaahl, the frontman of extreme, Satanic band Gorgoroth, who's been convicted of assault and torture. This isn't stuff that goes down easy -- but it's a side of metal that's rarely been captured. And depending on where you work, this is also, um, fairly NSFW.

More of the series after the jump. Read more...