Guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner met in Toronto more than 40 years ago, and they’re still front and center on the band’s latest slab of straightforward Metal, Anvil Is Anvil, the 16th studio release in a career that almost sputtered to an unceremonious end on more than one occasion.
Enter Anvil! The Story of Anvil, a fascinating, unexpectedly moving 2008 documentary about how influential the band’s early 1980s albums were on a genre that was about to explode commercially — a popular windfall that never quite benefitted Anvil. In fact, at the time of the documentary’s filming, both Kudrow and Reiner were working day jobs while scrambling to keep their musical career on life support.
Kudrow, in a recent interview with Blabbermouth, confirms the impact of the documentary on the band’s continued existence, but he also makes sure to highlight that is wasn’t necessarily hatched as a resuscitation device — it was more a confirmation of the musicians’ passion and legacy.
“Anvil (was) an inspiration to Anthrax, Megadeth and Metallica,” he said. “We were one of their favorite bands. We still are one of their favorite bands. You can’t hire Lars (Ulrich, Metallica drummer) to sit in on your documentary and get him to say those things. He did that for free. In fact, all the members of all those bands did that for free.”
ANVIL plays Thursday at Southgate House Revival with Against The Grain, Smoke Healer, War Curse and more. Click here for tickets/show info.
