"When you're in a rock band, the only thing you have as your ace in the deck is your knowledge of your talent and your friendship," Anvil lead singer Steve "Lips" Kudlow said in a Billboard.com video interview on the eve of the Oct. 6 DVD release of "Anvil: The Story of Anvil," the rock doc about the influential but long-unsung Canadian metal band. "Everything else is just random. What is the dealer giving you? And we've been playing this extraordinary game of poker for years and not really winning."


Above: Video Q&A with Anvil, presented in HD.

Calling to mind both "This Is Spinal Tap" and the Metallica doc "Some Kind Of Monster" -- it involves both a screaming match and someone named Robb Reiner -- "Anvil: The Story Of Anvil" catches up with Anvil a quarter-century on from its 1982 debut, "Metal On Metal." The movie finds that the band had quickly dropped into obscurity and the grind of endless small venue tours while the group's "goes to 11" music itself had attracted respect from many, including Metallica's Lars Ulrich and Guns N' Roses/Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash (both of whom are interviewed in the film). Former roadie Sacha Gervasi, who co-founded Bush and has written some high profile screenplays, directed the doc out of his longtime love for the band.

Since the film debuted at the Sundance film festival last year, Anvil has finally scored a manager, a booking agent, and some decidedly big-time gigs. The band recently opened for AC/DC at Giants Stadium. Anvil is scheduled for a club and movie theater tour in November in support of the film as well as the recent release of new album, "This is Thirteen."