Anvil is a Canadian heavy metal band formed in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 1978. The band currently consists of founding members guitarist/vocalist Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner, along with bassist Chris Robertson who joined in 2014. As of 2024, the band has released twenty studio albums; they have been cited as having influenced many notable heavy metal groups including

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

, and

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

. Reviewers described Anvil as a pioneering heavy metal band which was popular in the 1980s but then faded into obscurity in the 1990s, while refusing to stop playing, recording, and gigging. Anvil's antics on and off stage, the setbacks they suffered, and their determination to keep going have been compared to the fictional band Spinal Tap.

History

Formation (1973–1981)

Anvil began in 1973 in a suburb of Toronto, when high school friends Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner began playing music together. They met through a friend, guitarist and neighbor Marty Hoffman, but "musical differences" caused his departure after their first show. In 1978, the first full line-up of the band included Kudlow (lead vocals, lead guitar), Reiner (drums), Dave "Squirrely" Allison (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), and Ian "Dix" Dickson (bass). At that point, the band was called Lips.

Success in the 1980s (1981–1989)

In 1981, the band released an independent album called '' Hard 'N' Heavy''. Shortly after that they were signed by

Attic Records Attic Records was a Canadian independent record label,"Dance clubs go wild for jungle"
''Toronto St ...

and changed their name to Anvil. Their independent album was re-released by Attic as their debut album for the company. After its release, British rock musician

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was a British musician. He was the founder, lead vocalist, bassist and primary songwriter of the metal band Motörhead, of which he ...

asked Kudlow to play guitar for

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

, to replace

"Fast" Eddie Clarke Edward Allan Clarke (5 October 1950 – 10 January 2018), better known as "Fast" Eddie Clarke or simply "Fast" Eddie, was a British guitarist who was a member of heavy metal bands Fastway and Motörhead. Of Motörhead's classic lineup, which ...

, but Kudlow declined. By 1983,

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

manager David Krebs and assistant Paul O'Neill had signed a managing contract with Anvil and convinced Attic to release the band from its contract, so the band could sign with a major label. However, after initial interest, Krebs eventually stopped returning phone calls and did not get the band a major label recording contract; he released the band in mid-1986. In 1987 the band was signed with American label

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records (often shortened to Metal Blade) is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982 based in the U.S. state of California. The label primarily focuses on heavy metal. History Metal Blade Records was ...

by William Howell, a fan who became a DJ with

KNAC KBUE (105.5 FM, "Que Buena 105.5/94.3 FM") is a commercial radio station licensed to Long Beach, California, that serves the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It is owned by Estrella Media and airs a Regional Mexican radio format. Studios an ...

radio. The band released three records with Metal Blade, starting with '' Strength of Steel'', which was the group's most commercially successful record in the United States; it peaked at No. 191 on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Obscurity (1990–2006)

In 1991, Anvil was signed by Mausoleum Records which, in 1992, released their sixth album '' Worth the Weight''. In 1996, they were signed by Hypnotic Records in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Massacre Records Massacre Records is an independent record label based in Abstatt, Germany, specializing in bands from the heavier genres of metal. The label was founded in 1991 by Torsten Hartmann. Associated with Massacre Records are the marketing and music ...

in Germany. Hypnotic and Massacre released the albums, '' Plugged in Permanent'' (1996), '' Absolutely No Alternative'' (1997), ''

Speed of Sound The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit of time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elasticity (solid mechanics), elastic medium. More simply, the speed of sound is how fast vibrations travel. At , the speed of sound in a ...

'' (1999), '' Plenty of Power'' (2001) and '' Still Going Strong'' (2002). The albums were not particularly well-received, and Kudlow said that Anvil would not have continued had it not been for the German fans and the German contract, adding "We'll play gigs sometimes where there's no one there". In 1995, guitarist Sebastian Marino left the band to join Overkill. He was replaced by Ivan Hurd.

''Anvil! The Story of Anvil'' documentary, and ''This Is Thirteen'' (2006–2009)

In 2006, the band recorded with Chris Tsangarides, who produced their acclaimed 1982 album '' Metal on Metal''. After failing to find a new label, the album, '' This Is Thirteen'', was self-released in 2007 and was available exclusively from the band's

website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...

. Guitarist Ivan Hurd left the band at this point to settle down with his new wife, Anvil's former tour manager Tiziana Arrigoni. In 2008, the band was the subject of the

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

Anvil! The Story of Anvil ''Anvil! The Story of Anvil'' is a 2008 Canadian rockumentary film about the Canadian Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Anvil (band), Anvil. The film is directed by screenwriter Sacha Gervasi, in his directorial debut, and features interviews wi ...

'', directed by the screenwriter and former Anvil roadie

Sacha Gervasi Alexander Simon "Sacha" Gervasi''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (; born 1966) is a British director, screenwriter and former journalist. Early life Gervasi was born in London. His mother ...

. The film garnered critical acclaim from many major publications; ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' called it "the year's most praised rock doc." At the film's premiere, which took place at the 2008

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

, the band played " Cat Scratch Fever" with

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...

and Anthrax's

Scott Ian Scott Ian (born Scott Ian Rosenfeld, December 31, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist, lyricist and co-founder of the thrash metal band Anthrax (American band), Anthrax, of which he is the sole continuous member. Ia ...

. The high praise for the movie put Anvil back into the public consciousness, and brought the band opening slots with

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

and

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

, as well as appearances at major festivals, including the

Download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar systems. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...

Hellfest Hellfest (), also known as Hellfest Summer Open Air, is a rock festival focusing on heavy metal music, held annually in June in Clisson, France. Its high attendance makes it the French music festival with the largest turnover. It is also one o ...

Bumbershoot Bumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day (United States), Labor Day weekend (leading up to and ...

and

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

. After the success of the Anvil documentary,

VH1 Classic MTV Classic (formerly VH1 Smooth, VH1 Classic Rock, and VH1 Classic) is an American pay television network owned by Paramount Media Networks. It was originally launched in 1998 as "VH1 Smooth", an adult contemporary and smooth jazz channel. It ...

Records re-released ''This Is Thirteen'' on CD and vinyl on September 15, 2009, with a newly recorded song, "Thumb Hang", which was written by the band during the 1980s. The double-vinyl LP contains re-recorded versions of Anvil classics "Metal on Metal" and "666". In 2009, Bantam Press released the book ''Anvil: The Story of Anvil'', authored by Kudlow and Reiner with a foreword by

. On March 28, 2009, Kudlow and Reiner were the featured guests on

's That Metal Show. Anvil played the

Rocklahoma Rocklahoma is an annual 3-day hard rock and metal festival held in Pryor Creek, Oklahoma, Pryor, Oklahoma. The festival features 3 official stages, as well as many unofficial campground parties and performing acts and onsite vendors. There were ...

festival in Pryor, Oklahoma, in 2009 and opened for

at their first few summer

Black Ice World Tour The Black Ice World Tour was a 2008–2010 concert tour by Australian rock band AC/DC, in support of their fifteenth studio album '' Black Ice'', which was released on 20 October 2008. This tour had 8 legs around the world lasting more than 2 ...

shows (North American leg II). They also supported

on a leg of UK shows in November. Anvil appeared on ''

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fifth installment of ''The Tonight Show'', hosted by Conan O'Brien. It aired from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, succeeding ''The ...

'' on October 6, 2009, the first network television appearance of their career, to coincide with the release of ''Anvil! The Story Of Anvil'' on DVD in North America; on the show, the band performed "Metal on Metal". On October 8, 2009, Anvil filmed a cameo performance in a rock club for ''

The Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell (director), James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas i ...

''.

2010–present

From June to July 2010, Anvil went on a tour of Europe, selling out certain venues in the UK, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands as well as appearing at festivals in Finland, Sweden, France, Italy, and Germany. The band released '' Juggernaut of Justice'', their 14th studio album, on May 10, 2011, care of

The End Records The End Records is a record label in Manhattan that specialized in rock, heavy metal, indie, and electronic music. History Early years (1998–2005) The End Records was founded by Andreas Katsambas in Pasadena, California, with the goal of ...

. After the release of the album the band completed yet more tours in Europe and North America, often playing alongside artists such as

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

and

. The band released a new greatest hits album '' Monument of Metal: The Very Best of Anvil''. Anvil also started re-releasing their old material, starting with '' Strength of Steel'', ''

Pound For Pound Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports, such as boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts, adjusted to compensate for weight class. As fighters in different weight classes do not compete directly, determining the best fighter pound for ...

'', and '' Worth the Weight'' later that same year. In January 2012, bassist Glenn Gyorffy quit Anvil, citing creative differences. He was replaced by Sal Italiano, late of

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

tribute band Live After Death. Anvil embarked on a 2012 Winter Tour of the US and in May 2013, released '' Hope in Hell'', a studio recording produced by Bob Marlette. Kudlow said that in some songs he was inspired by his love of heavy rock'n'roll, which made him feel he "found his way home", to the time when they did their first record. In an interview with The Drummer's Journal, Lips outlined how the record was written "as if it was 1983 again." At that point, the band had signed with Steamhammer, which would release its next two albums. Anvil toured to promote the new album; they opened for

in Singapore, played

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a Heavy metal music, heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all ...

in Germany, swung through Australia and, in 2014, went on an extensive US tour. In 2014, Anvil parted ways with Sal Italiano and replaced him with Chris Robertson, who was already acting as the band's rehearsal bassist and a member of their road crew. The album '' Anvil Is Anvil'' was released on February 26, 2016; the band toured Europe and Japan in support of it. Anvil continued touring as its seventeenth album, '' Pounding the Pavement,'' was released on January 19, 2018. The band's 18th album, ''Legal at Last'', was released on February 14, 2020, by

AFM Records AFM Records GmbH is a music label based in Schwalmstadt, Germany. They focus on the heavy metal musical genre, signing bands such as U.D.O., Doro, Lordi, Kotipelto, Masterplan, Nostradameus, Redlight King, and Annihilator. In 2005, Can ...

. On May 20, 2022, Anvil's 19th album ''Impact Is Imminent'' was released''.'' On January 1, 2023, former guitarist Sebastian Marino died at the age of 57. The band released their twentieth studio album, ''One and Only'', in 2024. Former guitarist Dave Allison died on September 30, 2024, at the age of 68.

Band members

Current members

* Steve "Lips" Kudlow – guitars, lead vocals (1978–present) * Robb "Robbo" Reiner – drums (1978–present) * Chris Robertson – bass, backing vocals (2014–present)

Former members

* Dave "Squirrely" Allison – guitars, backing vocals (1978–1989; died 2024) * Ian "Dix" Dickson – bass (1978–1993) * Sebastian Marino – guitars (1989–1995; died 2023) * Mike Duncan – bass (1993–1996) * Ivan Hurd – guitars (1995–2007) * Glenn "Glenn Five" Gyorffy – bass, backing vocals (1996–2012) * Sal Italiano – bass (2012–2014)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Hard 'n' Heavy'' (1981, Attic Records) * '' Metal on Metal'' (1982, Attic Records) * '' Forged in Fire'' (1983, Attic Records) * '' Strength of Steel'' (1987, Metal Blade Records, Enigma Records) * ''

Pound for Pound Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports, such as boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts, adjusted to compensate for weight class. As fighters in different weight classes do not compete directly, determining the best fighter pound for ...

'' (1988, Metal Blade Records, Enigma Records) * '' Worth the Weight'' (1992, Maximum Records) * '' Plugged in Permanent'' (1996, Hypnotic Records) * '' Absolutely No Alternative'' (1997, Massacre Records) * ''

'' (1999, Massacre Records) * '' Plenty of Power'' (2001, Massacre Records) * '' Still Going Strong'' (2002, Massacre Records) * '' Back to Basics'' (2004, Massacre Records) * '' This Is Thirteen'' (2007, self-released) * '' Juggernaut of Justice'' (2011, The End Records) * '' Hope in Hell'' (2013, Steamhammer) * '' Anvil Is Anvil'' (2016, Steamhammer) * '' Pounding the Pavement'' (2018, Steamhammer) * '' Legal at Last'' (2020, AFM Records) * ''Impact Is Imminent'' (2022, AFM Records) * ''One and Only'' (2024, AFM Records)

Live albums

* '' Past and Present – Live in Concert'' (1989, Metal Blade Records, Roadracer Records)

Compilation albums

* '' Backwaxed'' (1985, Viper Records) * ''Molten Masterpieces'' (1989, Attic Records) * ''Massacre's Classix Shape Edition'' (1999, Massacre Records) * '' Anthology of Anvil'' (2000, Hypnotic Records) * '' Monument of Metal'' (2011, The End Records)

Singles & EPs

* ''School Love'' (1981, Polydor Records) * ''Anvil'' (1982, self-produced) * ''Stop Me/Tease Me, Please Me'' (1982, Attic Records) * ''Metal on Metal'' (1982, Attic Records) * ''Forged in Fire'' (1983, Attic Records) * ''Make It Up to You'' (1983, Attic Records) * ''Blood on the Ice'' (1988, Metal Blade Records, Enigma Records) * ''Juggernaut of Justice'' (2011, The End Records) * ''Daytrotter Session'' (2012, Daytrotter) * ''Hope in Hell'' (2013, Steamhammer) * ''Flying'' (2013, Steamhammer) * ''Mankind Machine'' (2013, Steamhammer) * ''Nabbed in Nebraska'' (2019, AFM Records) * ''Legal at Last'' (2019, AFM Records) * ''Feed Your Fantasy'' (2024, AFM Records)

Other media

;Books * ''Anvil: The Story of Anvil'' by Steve Kudlow and Robb Reiner (Foreword by

) Bantam Press (March 13, 2009) ;Film * ''

'', a documentary by

, filmed from late 2005 to 2007.

References

External links

* * * *
Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca

2013 Anvil interview
with The Drummer's Journal {{DEFAULTSORT:Anvil Canadian heavy metal musical groups Canadian speed metal musical groups Canadian musical trios Rock music groups from Toronto Musical groups established in 1978 Attic Records (Canada) artists Articles which contain graphical timelines 1978 establishments in Ontario