Anvil
In April of 1973 Steve (Lips) Kudlow and Robb Reiner began their journey for fame and fortune on the long hard road of rock music. It was during this time that Lips and Robb began to create their distinctive sound that would become one of the most influential music to ever come out of Canada in the heavy rock genre of music. When they teamed up with Dave Allison and Ian Dickson in 1977 they became LIPS and later the “speed metal gods” ANVIL that the world got acquainted with.
In 1980 the foursome released an independent album: LIPS - HARD 'N HEAVY. It was a self produced and manufactured album. Shortly after, the band was signed by Attic Records and at that time they changed their name to ANVIL. The band and record company didn’t want any possible confusion with the disco band Lipps Inc.
HARD 'N' HEAVY (1981)
This album is a fantastic start of an extensive and brilliant history. The album was much more of a rock and roll record but considering the time in which the songs were conceived it’s understandable. Outstanding tracks like "School Love" or "Bedroom Game" are more of what the band went for in the aftermath of this recording. The LIPS version of this album is quite rare as only 1000 copies were manufactured. The music is the same but the cover art work is a simple lip print, red on white with the name LIPS printed in black.
METAL ON METAL (1982)
This was ANVIL’s first of two albums produced by England’s Chris Tsangarides. The anthem "Metal On Metal" remains to this day ANVIL’s most requested and renowned song. Other songs like "666", "Jackhammer" and "March Of The Crabs" are the foundation and inspiration of what became known as “Speed Metal”. The album was done during the time of NWOBHM (the New Wave of British Heavy Metal) and secured ANVIL gigs at the most prestigious metal festivals such as the Castle Donnington and Monsters of Rock festival in England.
FORGED IN FIRE (1983)
FORGED IN FIRE was the second album produced by Chris Tsangarides and is the bands most recognized and known album. It was overlooked and received poorly by critics, but at the end of the day was really an absolute genius recording. Fans worldwide revere this album to be one of the greatest inspirations of “speed metal” up to this point in metal history. Bands like Metallica, Slayer and Pantera have referred to this album as being inspirational to them.
BACKWAXED (1985)
The album BACKWAXED was an unauthorized release by the record company after they chose not to renew the bands option. It was a compilation of out takes from demos made during the bands contracted period. The track "Backwaxed" was an outtake song from the FORGED IN FIRE recordings. Lips found it too offensive to include. The band was displeased with this release. The overall result was not up to the bands usual standards.
STRENGTH OF STEEL (1987)
After a three year span ANVIL released their fourth album. Unfortunately it was with a record company that did very little to promote the record or the band. At that time in metal music it seemed to some that this album was not as fast and heavy as the previous albums. Songs like "Mad Dog" were almost a step back to the first album venturing into the rock and roll aspect of the ANVIL sound. This is not to say that the song wasn’t good but actually misunderstood in it's day. In today’s look back it’s one of Anvil’s most catchy recordings. The video is still being played on MuchMusic in Canada. The video mixes comedy and metal in a unique way. Lack of promotion and touring opportunities hindered this albums success and this song could have made ANVIL radio fame. This album is one of ANVIL’s more obscure and difficult to find albums, with some more than interesting songs on it.
POUND FOR POUND (1988)
POUND FOR POUND was a step forward in ANVIL becoming a very unique entity as only ANVIL could make a record like this. It foreshadowed albums to come later. "Blood On The Ice" was a true Canadian based song as it was about the all Canadian game of hockey. This was the last studio album Dave Allison recorded with ANVIL.
PAST AND PRESENT - LIVE IN CONCERT (1989)
PAST AND PRESENT marked the end of the first chapter of ANVIL’s history. The songs on this recording were simply “the best of” at the time. The song list consisted of material from the first album to the fifth album. It was recorded during a rare American tour in Long Beach, California at a place called The Waters Club. It was the bands’ first time playing in California. The album was recorded in one night and is impressive as a live recording. The sound quality is very clear and the band is extremely tight.
WORTH THE WEIGHT (1991)
WORTH THE WEIGHT marked a new era for the band. It was the first album without Dave Allison and the first album to have two lead guitars. It was also Ian Dickson’s final recording with the band. Lips and Robb remained determined to continue and find musicians to make ANVIL better than ever. To replace Dave they temporarily hired a guitarist Sebastian Marino from Rochester, New York. This was his only recording with the band. The album is very technical in a somewhat progressive manner. The lyrics are very dark and deal with the subject of death. Songs like "Love Me When I’m Dead" or "Embalmer" are prime examples of that. It was a difficult period for the band, with their own feelings of loss, despair and definite anger coming out in the music and lyrical themes. This combination created one of ANVIL's heaviest and most intense recordings.
PLUGGED IN PERMANENT (1996)
PLUGGED IN PERMANENT provided another fresh start for ANVIL. This was the first album for Ivan Hurd and by the end of this recording Glenn Gyorffy had also joined the band. This album was extremely heavy, with tuned down guitars and super fast riffs. A video was made for the song "Doctor Kevorkian" and was played frequently on MuchMusic’s Power Hour. Some fans and critics felt this album to be far heavier than the ANVIL of the past. The record company at the time created t-shirts with the slogan Too Heavy for Wimps in retaliation.
ABSOLUTELY NO ALTERNATIVE (1997)
As the title states there is definitely no alternative music on this album. This is the first full recording with bassist Glenn Gyorffy. The album is a continuation of the new sounding ANVIL. Some of the outstanding tracks are "Show Me Your Tits", which has become an underground hit for the band, and "Old School" which is similar in style to "Jackhammer" from the METAL ON METAL album.
SPEED OF SOUND (1998)
SPEED OF SOUND is an outstanding example of a band realizing its potential. The influences in this are pure ANVIL and highlight it at its finest moments. The use of blast beats was a new influence taken from very extreme metal music of the 90’s. This was the first of 4 albums co-produced by Pierre Remillard. Outstanding songs like "No Evil", which has the blast beat sections, and other songs like "Deadbeat Dad" or "Park that Truck" demonstrate the sheer power and aggression ANVIL is renowned for.
ANTHOLOGY OF ANVIL (1999)
This album is a well chosen collection of songs spanning the entire career up until this point in ANVIL's history.
PLENTY OF POWER (2001)
What an impressive way to bring in the new millennium, with a powerful and aggressive album. The title track "Plenty of Power" with its engine starting and relentless power opens this brilliant sounding recording. This was Pierre’s best studio production and engineering work with ANVIL. Songs like "Computer Drone" and "Real Metal" showcase the beautifully structured songs that ANVIL is more than capable of writing. The sound of the hammer on the Anvil is utilized once again and was sampled from the song "Metal On Metal". The bonus tracks "Dirty Dorothy" on the German release and "Left Behind" on the Canadian release are great add on songs for this album and either is as good if not better than the other songs. This recording is one of ANVIL's finest ever, and was received quite positively by critics and fans alike.
STILL GOING STRONG (2002)
This is more than Still Strong it is just Strong as usual. The songs on this album are very grooving power metal at its finest. The opening track "Race Against Time" is an amazing piece of music sounding like really fine classic hard rocking metal. There is even an instrumental with a drum solo. This might seem unusual but not for ANVIL. It’s a great treat to hear a great drummer. Songs like "Don’t Ask Me" would be a stupendous song to hear on the radio, too bad program directors missed the opportunity, but then again it’s never too late.
BACK TO BASICS (2004)
As the title suggests, this album is extremely Back to the Basics. Its influences are deep rooted in the late 60’s and early 70’s. In actual fact Lips used unrecorded ideas from the past. This diverse album spans the different facets ANVIL made itself known for. It was a venture back to regular tuning like the early recordings of the 80's. This album was not particularly enjoyed by critics but loved by all the ANVIL die hard fans. A DVD is included of a live performance at the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany in 1998.
Back to The ANVIL Homepage