LIPS: Highlights Of ANVIL's Four-Decade Career 'Were Never Very High'

In a brand new interview with Lords Of Metal, ANVIL frontman Steve "Lips" Kudlow was asked if the band has any plans to celebrate its 40th anniversary this year. "I am not an anniversary kind of person," he responded. "To be honest, I hardly look at the calendar. I have the theory that the more you look at the calendar, the older you get. You count, you get old. I don't count! Okay, it is 40 years — nice number. I look at the last 40 years as one long albums and tour."

Speaking about the highlights of the last four decades, Lips said: "The highlights were never very high. To be really honest with you, we struggled during the 'Metal On Metal' and 'Forged In Fire' albums. Once 'Forged In Fire' came out, it was slagged heavily in the press immediately. We only felt some sort of glorious with the release of the 'Hard And Heavy' album, but that quickly disappeared. Realistically, there were never any real highpoints but a constant struggle until now. The people talk about our glory days — well, not much glory, I tell you. We never were million sellers, just support band to MOTÖRHEAD. That was the best we saw. The year after we did the Japanese shows, they were quite big, but we were cut short to a shitty 40-minute set… a throwaway support band. Is that a high point? I don't know. [Laughs]"

According to Lips, ANVIL's career "was not a road that went from very high to very low — [it was] just a constant struggle in achieving success. We never felt that we were big stars." Even in ANVIL's home country of Canada, "The respect and recognition only started with the documentary/movie ['Anvil: The Story Of Anvil']," Lips said. "In Canada, they have a hard time accepting that we are still around. If you want to be a name in Canada, then you have to be known worldwide. There are some exceptions in Canada — for example, THE TRAGICALLY HIP and APRIL WINE, who are only world famous in Canada. But ANVIL is the opposite. Known everywhere, except in Canada. But the moment the documentary broke in the States, Canada was ready to embrace ANVIL."

Lips went on to say that "what is relevant" about his band's longevity "is that we have an audience that supported us and paid to keep ANVIL alive until now. It is not important what a certain person or industry thinks, it counts what the ANVIL fans think. And you know, I am a metal fan too. I judge my music against the music I like myself. And you know what? I am still here after 40 years and the record companies that did not believe in us, are long, long gone."

ANVIL's latest album, "Pounding The Pavement", was released last month via SPV/Steamhammer. The disc was produced at the Soundlodge studios in Rhauderfehn in the northwest of Germany, where ANVIL found not only the necessary peace and seclusion to concentrate on their recordings, but also met in studio owner Jörg Uken the ideal producer for their ambitioned work.