Canadian Thrash Metal Pioneers Anvil
A History of Steve Lips Kudlow, Robb Reiner's Band, Metal on Metal
Apr 13, 2009
If there's a "Just Won't Quit" award in rock n' roll, one of the biggest contenders has to be Canadian thrash pioneers Anvil. Recently profiled in Sacha Gervasi's documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil (click through for a review), the fiftysomething rockers have refused to give up their rock star dreams, through financial meltdown, revolving bandmembers and disheartening tours.
Founding members Steve 'Lips' Kudlow (vocals/lead guitar) and Robb Reiner (drums) hooked up in 1973, when they were both 14 years old, and started the first incarnation of the band in 1978, calling themselves LIPS.
In 1981, the group assembled the cash to make their first independent record, called Hard 'N Heavy. The platter swiftly caught the ear of Attic Records, which re-released Hard N' Heavy and encouraged the group to change their name to Anvil.
Anvil's Metal on Metal: Influential Thrash Record
It would be Anvil's 2nd disc, 1982's Metal on Metal, that would break the group wide open and become an important influence on the early thrash movement. Metallica's Lars Ulrich, Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister, Slash (Guns n' Roses/Velvet Revolver), Slayer's Tom Araya and Anthrax's Scott Ian have all praised the group in interviews.
"They were a great band, yeah," Lemmy told filmmaker Sacha Gervasi. "I always liked Anvil."
Metal on Metal also broke Anvil internationally, giving them opening slots for bands like The Scorpions, Whitesnake and Dio. 'Lips' made quite an impression onstage, wearing fetish outfits while performing and playing his Gibson Flying V with a vibrator.
Unfortunately, Anvil failed to capitalize on the commercial momentum generated by Metal on Metal. In 1987, the group had moved to Metal Blade Records and released 3 discs with that label, starting with Strength of Steel.
When that deal also failed, Anvil signed with Maximum Records, a label formed by Helix's then-manager William Steip. That deal only produced one record, 1991's Worth the Weight. Five years later, the group moved on to Hypnotic Records in Canada and Massacre Records in Germany.
The decline, plus the stress of replacing rotating band members, forced 'Lips' and Reiner to take day jobs to support themselves and their families and, by 2004, the group had fallen off the international rock radar.
Where Did Anvil Go Wrong?
"We had a bad manager," said Reiner in an interview with Suite 101.
Metal on Metal producer Chris Tsangarides agreed. In a conversation with Gervasi, he blamed "lousy management, lousy recordings." However, 'Lips' has a different theory about why Anvil never really made it.
"A combination of things were not in line," he told Suite 101. "It takes a lot of things to get in line for a success to happen, it’s not just one thing. I gotta great song; yeah, so what! Who's your record company? Did your manager send it to a record company to get you a record deal at the right time, with the right record company that needed that kind of act, with the audience that wanted to buy it: all the things that have to align in order to have the big financial success."
In 2007, Anvil reunited with Metal on Metal producer Chris Tsangarides to record their "comeback CD" This is Thirteen. At the same time, former Anvil roadie and filmmaker Sacha Gervasi (The Terminal) made a documentary, chronicling the group's highs and lows and following them through several tours and recording This is Thirteen.
The resulting film premièred at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2008. It won Audience Awards at the 2008 Sydney Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival and Galway International Film Festival, and was nominated in the "Truer Than Fiction" category at the 2009 Independent Spirit Awards.
The group released This is Thirteen exclusively through their website, Anvilmetal.com, and are currently touring in support of the disc and promoting The Story of Anvil. Although the band hasn't quit their day jobs yet, the fiftysomething Kudlow and Reiner still believe that they're destined to become the rock stars they've always wanted to be.
(Want to learn more about Anvil? Click here and here to read an exclusive interview with the band)
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