by Alex Kluft

Anvil played the Whisky a Go Go or as I’d like to call them the Mighty Anvil. Anvil formed in Toronto, Canada in 1978 by guitarist/singer Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner. Their current bassist Chris Robertson has been a member since 2014. In the 80’s they were a key part of Heavy Metal. Anvil influenced all bands that make up the Big 4 (Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth) but when the 80’s ended, Anvil continued to tour and make albums but became less known. Finally in 2008 when the documentary on the band Anvil! The Story of Anvil revived the band’s career and brought their music to a new generation of metalheads. The documentary won several awards at various film festivals. A year after the release of the documentary Anvil made their first TV appearance with a performance on The Tonight Show while Conan was host. Anvil were also guests on That Metal Show in 2009. In 2010 Anvil toured across the U.K. and Europe selling out many shows and made a few major festival appearances like Download and Hellfest. Last month Anvil released their 20th studio album Impact is Imminent. Anvil has been called the real life Spinal Tap. I’d also like to think of them a bit as the original Steel Panther with all the humor and certain song titles. Anvil was a 4-piece band until 2007 and has been a trio since then.

Anvil is just an incredible band to see and they even started a mosh pit at the Whisky, something you don’t see too often these days. A few songs performed were “This Is Thirteen,” “Mothra,” “B*tch in the Box,” and of course “Metal on Metal” which I remember from the documentary trailer years ago. Lips even did a vibrator solo, something I’ve never seen any guitarist do and it was also used as a guitar slide. Next year will mark 50 years of Kudlow and Reiner making music together. Anvil has tour dates through July 31st in the U.S.