ANVIL Frontman: 'Metal Is A Timeless Format Of Music'

Marcus Aurelius of Taipei Times recently conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Steve "Lips" Kudlow of Canadian metal legends ANVIL. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Taipei Times: Do you pay attention to current metal and rock and roll? What do you think of the state of metal at the moment?

Lips: I sometimes listen to something new but rarely enjoy it. For me, good or listenable metal has to have a strong powerful feel that is consistent and steady with a memorable level of melody. I think a lot of metal music in this day and age lacks these qualities.

Taipei Times: How has your definition of metal changed over the years?

Lips: My personal definition of metal has not changed. I still love and listen to the music I grew up with and continue to be inspired to create in the same vein. Metal is a timeless format of music. What was good 40 years ago is still good today. Case in point — BLACK SABBATH.

Taipei Times: You and ANVIL co-founder, drummer Robb Reiner, have been through the highs and the lows of ANVIL. Was there ever a time when you thought that you two would never be friends again? What happened? How did you make up?

Lips: For whatever reason, we have never been faced with this type of breakdown. We certainly can have arguments and even sometimes push each other around but never to the point that would cause permanent damage physically or emotionally. There is a true honest friendship between us and even at the worst of times we have been able to resolve our differences.

Taipei Times: What kind of credit do you give ["Anvil! The Story Of Anvil" director] Sacha Gervasi for putting you guys back on the map and into people's consciousness?

Lips: It isn't easy to quantify how much gratitude I feel toward Sacha. He is a dear friend, and even more like my little brother. We help each other and have enormous respect for each other. We shared success with each other and this is a very powerful bond. We continue to be very close friends and probably will be for the rest of our lives.

Read the entire interview from Taipei Times.