ANVIL Releases New Single 'World Of Fools' From Upcoming 'One And Only' Album

Canadian metal legends ANVIL will release their 20th studio album "One And Only", on June 28 via AFM Records. The effort was recorded late last summer with longtime producer Martin "Mattes" Pfeiffer and Jörg Uken at Uken's Soundlodge studios in Germany. The same production team was responsible for ANVIL's last four albums, "Anvil Is Anvil" (2016),"Pounding The Pavement" (2018),"Legal At Last" (2019) and "Impact Is Imminent" (2022).

The LP's third single, "World Of Fools", can be streamed below.

When it comes to the most influential bands in the history of heavy metal, authorities on the subject regularly vote ANVIL among the top positions. The group from Toronto, Canada, with its two masterminds, guitarist/vocalist Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner, and bassist Chris Robertson, not only looks back at an impressive career with countless highlights — as well as a number of well-documented difficulties — but has also had a lasting influence on lots of internationally renowned musicians, from METALLICA to SLAYER and beyond.

ANVIL are and will always be one of a kind and are continuing to shape the contemporary metal scene just as impressively as they did at the beginning of their career. How they achieve this? Thanks to their straightforward metal fueled by cutting riffs and catchy hooks, which the musicians continue to celebrate with admirable effortlessness and great passion.

"We're more like our old selves than we've been in years," comments Lips on the new album, adding: "We've dropped all our more modern aspects, particularly the '90s version of ANVIL. No sexual topics and no thrash speed songs like they featured on past albums."

"One And Only" sees the band provide first-rate ANVIL entertainment: While Lips is considered to be one of the most creative and interesting storytellers of the metal genre, Robertson and Reiner keep the up the pace with their usual confidence, providing the perfect rhythm section for Lips. Although they have experienced the tough and frequently merciless side of the music industry on a number of occasions, ANVIL never lost their idealism, motivation and energy, which is immediately evident on "One And Only".

Regarding ANVIL's continuing collaboration with Pfeiffer and Uken, Lips said: "[Pfeiffer and Uken are] our one and only choice. As usual, Mattes and Jörg did a great job in choosing our best playing and making sure it has top notch sound. Great guys who understand the band and know what suits us best."

"One And Only" track listing:

01. One And Only
02. Feed Your Fantasy
03. Fight For Your Rights
04. Heartbroken
05. Gold And Diamonds
06. Dead Man Shoes
07. Truth Is Dying
08. Rocking The World
09. Run Away
10. World Of Fools
11. Condemned Liberty
12. Blind Rage

In a recent interview with BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Lips stated about the motivation for releasing a new ANVIL album: "I don't even know, other than my drummer kicking my ass constantly. He's already on to the next album. He's already going, 'What have you written for the next one?' I'm like, 'Can we let this one come out and see what happens? We haven't even gotten a deal for the next album. One thing at a time.' But he's going, 'We're running out of time!' I said, 'We're not due to put out an album for another year and a half. What do you mean?' [Laughs]"

Lips went on to say that getting inspiration for new music is "not a problem. There's always something to write about. There's always a riff to play. I never run out of that. I see these guys going, 'I've got writer's block.' No, you're fucking lazy. That's what that is. If you sit down and start working on stuff, you've got stuff. If you don't, then you're done. It's real simple."

Asked if ANVIL would space out its releases more, if the band could have its way, Lips said: "Yeah, slightly. I think it's taken very much for granted. You see bands that haven't put out an album for ten years, put out an album and everybody is really excited about it. But if you put out an album every couple of years, no one is excited. It lasts about a week. [Laughs] I've had managers tell me, 'Why are you worried about putting an album out? You've got dozens of albums out there. Why worry about the next one? It's not going to make much difference.' But that's not completely true. If you're not a pop band and you have to stay relevant, there's only one way, which is putting out new music."

Lips added that releasing albums is now mainly a way to help promote ANVIL's tours. "It's the same as what Lemmy [Kilmister, MOTÖRHEAD] used to do," he explained. "One of the last times we saw him, he had just had his pacemaker put in. He was looking really ill. Robb goes and it was just after they recorded an album, 'I guess this means you're not going to go on tour.' Lemmy went ballistic: 'What do you mean we're not going to tour? What would be the point in recording an album if you're not going to tour?' I agree. What's the point? Now, you can't get enough done fast enough. The audience is so spoiled and so fucking…almost jaded, really. All the major bands put out an album almost every year and the hype lasts for about a week and it's over."

Photo credit: W. Cliff Knese