In the high-stakes lottery of 1980s heavy metal, the Canadian power trio Anvil held all the winning numbers but somehow lost the ticket.
To the uninitiated, they might look like a footnote in musical history, but to the titans of thrash, they were the blueprint. While Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax conquered stadiums and redefined the global music industry, the men who showed them how to do it were left delivering school lunches and playing to empty bars. This is the saga of a band caught in a relentless cycle of 'almost' moments: a story of survival, brotherhood, and the cruel, thin line between superstardom and the bargain bin.
The architects of speed
Before the bad luck, there was the brilliance. Founded in Toronto in 1978 by childhood friends Steve 'Lips' Kudlow and Robb Reiner, Anvil wasn't just another hard rock band. They were faster, heavier, and more technically proficient than almost anyone on the North American circuit. Their 1982 masterpiece, Metal on Metal, was a seismic event in the underground.
At a time when the New Wave of British Heavy Metal – spearheaded by Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Saxon and Diamond Head – was crossing the Atlantic, Anvil took that energy and injected it with a North American sense of scale. Lips’s frantic, charging guitar work and Robb Reiner’s revolutionary double-bass drumming created a sound that was arguably the first true iteration of speed metal. They were the bridge between the classic rock of the 70s and the extreme metal of the 80s. If you listen to the title track of Metal on Metal or the blistering '666', you aren't just hearing a heavy song; you’re hearing the DNA of an entire subgenre.
The Leapfrog: Disciples and Successors
The most stinging aspect of Anvil’s career isn't just that they didn't get famous; it’s that the people they inspired became the biggest bands on the planet. In the early 80s, Anvil was the band that every aspiring metalhead in California was obsessed with. Lars Ulrich of Metallica, Scott Ian of Anthrax, and Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead have all, at various points, bowed down to the influence of the Canadians.
In 1984, Anvil played the Super Rock festival in Japan. They shared the stage with a burgeoning Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, and the Scorpions. By the end of that year, Jon Bon Jovi was on his way to becoming a household name. Whitesnake was prepping for multi-platinum glory. Anvil, meanwhile, returned to Toronto to find that their record label didn't even have a distribution deal in the United States. While their disciples from Metallica were signing to major labels and recording Ride the Lightning, the masters were stuck in a predatory contract with Attic Records that effectively buried their best work during the genre's most critical growth spurt.
A Chronology of Calamity
Anvil’s history is like a Lemony Snicket novel set to a distorted Marshall stack. Their bad luck was rarely the result of a lack of talent or work ethic; it was a perfect storm of mismanagement, geography, and timing.
The Attic Records Trap
The band's initial deal with Attic Records was a golden cage. The label was small and lacked the muscle to push the band into the American market. When the band tried to leave, they were caught in legal limbo for years. By the time they finally secured their freedom, the 'Big Four' (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax) had already claimed the thrash metal throne. The window of opportunity for a new thrash band had slammed shut.
The 'Almost' Audition
At one point early in the Anvil story (early 1982, to be precise), Motörhead's legendary frontman Lemmy Kilmister – who adored Lips’s playing – offered him the guitar slot in his band. 'Fast' Eddie Clarke had recently quit Motörhead and Lemmy was on the hunt for a replacement. It was a guaranteed ticket to global recognition and financial stability.
Lips turned it down. His loyalty to Robb Reiner and the Anvil dream was absolute. While admirable, it remains one of the great 'what ifs' of rock history. Had Lips joined Motörhead, Anvil might have faded away, but Lips would have been a legend. Instead, he chose the hard road.
The Missing Millions
In the late 80s and early 90s, as metal became a billion-dollar industry, Anvil was relegated to the sidelines. They continued to release albums – Strength of Steel, Pound for Pound, Worth the Weight –but without the backing of a major label, these records became cult curiosities rather than chart-toppers. Lips eventually took a job at Choice Children’s Catering, delivering hot sauce and sandwiches to schoolkids by day so he could play metal by night.
The 2005 European Tour from Hell
Perhaps Anvil's most legendary bad luck moment was their 2005 tour of Europe. This was beset by diastsers. At 5am one morning, the band's tour van ran out of petrol on a bridge between Bulgaria and Romania. When Lips stepped out and relieved himself in the snow (the van's toilets were not working), he was apprehended by border guards who had got the whole incident recorded on video.
In Italy, the band reversed their van into a police car. In Prague, the concert promoter attempted to pay them not in cash but in goulash, a central European meat and vegetable stew. At another show, they sold just four T-shirts after the gig, and had to use the proceeds to buy food. It was a demoralizing grind that would have broken any other band, yet Lips and Robb pushed through, fueled by a pure, perhaps delusional, love for the music.
The 2008 Resurrection
The narrative finally shifted with the release of the documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil. Directed by Sacha Gervasi (a former roadie for the band), the film captured the heartbreaking reality of the band’s struggle. It showed Lips and Robb in their 50s, still bickering like brothers, still dreaming of the big time while playing to three people in a sports bar in Transylvania.
The film was a global sensation. It didn't just tell a story about a band; it told a story about the human spirit. It turned Anvil from 'the guys who didn't make it' into 'the guys who refused to quit'. The documentary provided a 'Cinderella moment' that decades of touring couldn't achieve. Fame had at last come knocking.
As big as Metallica?
Many musicians argue that Anvil could have been as dominant a force in metal as their early disciples Metallica, because they helped shape the sound and culture of early 1980s heavy metal – but never got the commercial momentum.
After all, 1982's Metal on Metal showed them as early innovators in speed metal, with its very fast riffs, aggressive drumming and high-energy, shouted vocals. These elements became central to thrash metal soon after. Bands like Slayer and Anthrax later used a similar intensity – but with better promotion and timing. But Anvil were, arguably, gthe crucial bridge between traditional heavy metal and thrash.
They had the stage presence, too: frontman Steve 'Lips' Kudlow had a flamboyant stage style typical of arena metal, all wild guitar solos, humour, crowd interaction and memorable gimmicks (the vibrator thing, for example).
Anvil's music arrived at the right time: but the industry support wasn't there. Elsewhere, British bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest had strong label backing, while the major American thrash bands quickly gained major-label deals. No such support was there for Anvil.
In a bittersweet irony, all that changed with the film that told the story, in part, of their bad lick over the years. Anvil! The Story of Anvil showed how respected they were by famous musicians despite decades of obscurity. After its release, Anvil's concerts started selling out again, critics reassessed their early albums, and younger metal fans discovered them.
What Others Said About Anvil
"Everyone was influenced by Anvil. If they hadn't been there, the whole scene would have been different." – Lars Ulrich (Metallica)
"They are the real deal. They never gave up, they never changed their style, and they never sold out. You have to respect that." – Lemmy Kilmister (Motörhead)
"I remember hearing Metal on Metal and thinking, 'This is it. This is the future.' We all ripped off Robb Reiner’s drumming." – Scott Ian (Anthrax)
"Anvil is a band that deserved a lot more than they got. They were there at the beginning, paving the way for all of us." – Slash (Guns N' Roses)
Anvil: 5 Key Tracks
1. 'Metal on Metal' (Metal on Metal, 1982)
The definitive Anvil anthem. With its mid-tempo, crushing riff and "sing-along" chorus, it became a blueprint for the stadium-metal sound. It’s a declaration of identity that remains their most famous song, capturing the industrial, grinding spirit of their hometown, Toronto.
2. '666' (Metal on Metal, 1982)
A masterclass in early speed metal. This track showcases Robb Reiner’s incredible double-bass drumming, which was years ahead of its time. The frantic pace and Lips’s shredding guitar work directly influenced the early thrash sound of Metallica’s Kill 'Em All.
3. 'Mothra' (Metal on Metal, 1982)
Proving they weren't just about speed, 'Mothra' is a heavy, doom-laden track based on the famous kaiju, or moth-like monster, from the eponymous 1961 Japanese film . It features Lips’s iconic 'vibrator solo', where he famously played his guitar with a sex toy – a piece of stage theatre that became a staple of their live shows.
4. 'Winged Assassins' (Forged in Fire, 1983)
A high-velocity track that demonstrated the band’s tightening technical prowess. The interplay between the drums and the rhythmic guitar chugging is quintessential Anvil. It’s a relentless, aggressive piece that shows why they were the 'cool' band for the underground elite.
5. 'Hope in Hell' (Hope in Hell, 2013)
The title track of their fifteenth album is a definitive slow-burner that leans heavily into a dark, doom-metal groove. While Anvil is famous for speed, this track proves they can be just as effective when they slow down to a menacing, Black Sabbath-esque crawl. It’s a cavernous, heavy stomper that serves as a testament to their longevity and their refusal to soften their sound, even decades after their initial peak.
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