By Kelley Simms
MORE ANVIL!
Photo by Rudy DeDoncker
Anvil
E
veryone’s favorite Canadian heavy
metal band is back. Anvil has been
churning out the same riveting
proto-metal since 1981 and on the band's
17th full-length album, Pounding the
Pavement
(out
January
19
via
SPV/Steamhammer), Anvil does what it
has always done best. The 12 new tracks
are loaded with sharp, straightforward riffs
with recognizable grooves, signature gang-
chanted choruses, and fiery guitar solos in
true Anvil fashion. Childhood buddies
Steve “Lips” Kudlow (guitar/vocals) and
Robb Reiner (drums), joined by new bassist
Chris Robertson, have been through plenty
of hardships throughout their storied
career. With a slew of bad record label
deals, poor management and a changing
musical climate in the ’90s, Anvil wallowed
in obscurity. However, after longtime
friend and fan, director Sasha Gervasi,
made a documentary (Anvil! The Story of
Anvil) about the band in 2008, Anvil gained
34 illinoisentertainer.com january 2018
a renewed resurgence and broke through to
the mainstream audience. Mosh chatted
with Kudlow about the new album, the
documentary, his dedication to Anvil and
much more.
Mosh: Pounding the Pavement is Anvil all
the way. What were you trying to achieve
with these new tracks?
Lips: More Anvil! What else would it be?
If you can’t be yourself, who are you going
to be? When I look at myself in the m