ANVIL Frontman Comments On Upcoming AC/DC Support Gigs

Steve "Lips" Kudlow, the guitarist/vocalist of the Canadian heavy metal legends ANVIL, spoke to the National Post about his band's upcoming opening-act shows with AC/DC at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on July 28 and Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 31.

"Doing the gig is the easy part, getting the gig is what's tough," says Lips. "I last saw AC/DC with my 11-year-old at the Air Canada Centre. Now, he'll get to see me open for the band in the States. It's bombastic, man. Really, really incredible stuff."

ANVIL landed the gigs based on the overwhelming response to and incredible buzz created by the critically acclaimed documentary "Anvil! The Story of Anvil".

"What it came down to is the fact that AC/DC will benefit because they're the guys who extended a hand to help ANVIL out," Lips adds. "I don't know if they saw the movie or not. I just know a decision was made by Angus [Young, AC/DC's guitarist] and he wanted see ANVIL triumph and succeed."

In between recording their new album and playing Gillete Stadium in Boston on July 28 and Giant Stadium on July 31, ANVIL is also looking at possible tour dates with METALLICA and hoping to join AC/DC on August's Canadian leg of their tour.

"All this stuff that’s happening to us now could never have happened if we didn’t play for more than thirty years," Lips says. "I got to tell you, man, it couldn't happen at a better time in our lives. It bought me a retirement fund, if nothing else."

"Anvil! The Story of Anvil" is the directorial debut of screenwriter Sacha Gervasi ("The Terminal") and was produced by Rebecca Yeldham ("The Kite Runner" and "The Motorcycle Diaries"). The film follows Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner and their band, ANVIL, which released one of the heaviest albums in metal history, 1982's "Metal on Metal". The album influenced an entire musical generation of rock bands, including METALLICA, SLAYER, and ANTHRAX, who all went on to sell millions of records. ANVIL, on the other hand, took a different path — straight to obscurity. The film is both entertaining and touching as it follows their last-ditch quest for the fame and fortune that has been so elusive to them. "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" is a timeless tale of survival and the unadulterated passion it takes to follow your dream, year after year.

Praised as "the best documentary I've seen in years," by documentarian Michael Moore, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" contains appearances by an array of heavy metal icons, including METALLICA's Lars Ulrich, former member of GUNS N' ROSES, Slash, ANTHRAX's Scott Ian, and SLAYER's Tom Araya, among others.