TVD Live Shots:
Anvil at the O2 Islington Academy, 10/13

It was close to being the last live music show in London before the lockdown began in 2020. Anvil were touring in support of their 18th studio album, Legal at Last. “We put out the album, came here to England and went home. We had never had a chance to play anything from the album.” The pandemic forced the band to cancel the tour, and now they were in a race to get home before the world shut down. “We were the last band off the road. When we got to the airport, I got my ticket and handed them my passport, and they had just closed the borders of America,” recalled Lips. 

“You can’t take this flight as it goes through New York,” said the ticket agent. “So, how do we get home?” asked Lips. “You can’t,” said the agent. Eventually, after racing from airline to airline across several different terminals at Heathrow, flights were filling up, but they finally got a direct flight from London to Toronto. If that wasn’t chaotic enough, Lips tested positive for covid when he got back home to Toronto. Although he recovered, there seems to be a lingering effect.” I’ve got a bit of memory fog, I don’t know if it’s my age or covid, but I think it’s covid as I’ve never had that kind of issue before,” he recalls. But out of the darkness comes the light. Anvil always looks for the positive in any situation, and they try to push on and make the best of it. In this case, a new album was born; the pandemic-fueled Impact is Imminent.

“Our album titles are always alliterations; we have thousands compiled, literally,” says Lips. Impact is Imminent was chosen because of what was happening at the time and still is. “We were talking about the impact of the pandemic; the worst is yet to come. So we made an Anvil asteroid, but we didn’t want to show it hitting the Earth because maybe it would miss this time around. We realized they were printing money, and the cost of living was going to skyrocket. The impact is imminent, literally,” says Lips.

The song “Lockdown” is an example of creativity thriving while being forced to stay at home. It’s a slow burner near the end of the new album, and it’s even more compelling when you get the backstory. “It’s great to have something to say and expel the demons,” says Lips. He continues, “I got to write about how I felt about lockdown while it was happening. When you are this close to the subject, it only takes seconds to write, and then afterwards, you look at what you did, and you are like, holy shit! Where did I get THAT from? From being pent up, fucking packed in and shoved in a hole, that’s where I got it from, and I needed to get it out. The line that blows me away the most is ‘To breath the same air’ I don’t even know where that came from, but it’s there.”

Speaking of sparks of genius, the band’s signature hit “Metal on Metal” wasn’t supposed to be “the one.” “It’s not a commercial song,” says Lips. “It was the song with the least integrity, the easiest song on the album to play and sing. To me; there’s nothing spectacular there.” The song took off when the Canadian music video channel Much Music used it as a promo for the band. “The only reason I chose that song was because it was the name of the album,” says Lips. “They show me signing “Metal on Metal”—I didn’t realize it was so catchy; it was the title I was going after. But at the same time, I wish we could have used “Mothra” or “Jackhammer.”

Anvil remains one of heavy metal’s most influential acts, yet it took them decades to find commercial success. Most bands would have given up, but not Anvil. So how do they define success now? “Success is doing what you love, making a living, and getting away with it. Nothing more, nothing less,” says Lips. “If people think it’s about having millions of dollars, are you fucking stupid? It has nothing to do with that; you can have millions and be miserable. I’m playing rock ‘n’ roll and traveling all around the world. When everyone else is retiring and had enough, I finally got my breakthrough, and I’m getting to do that; what could be more fitting, satisfying, and rewarding? I don’t think life could have worked out better.”

But he’s not the only one, says Lips. “Just look at Raven, Girlschool, Lemmy, or Dio. It’s the same blood and energy that flows through them that flows in me. Anybody who goes after it in life has to have that hunger for what they love and what they are doing it for. To me, it’s not about having a hit single; it’s a metal band! You don’t write hit singles; if you do, you’re a fucking poser. If the radio picks something up, that’s a different story; I didn’t write it for that. It’s about doing what you love and not ever contemplating quitting.”

Anvil absolutely smashed it that night at the O2 Islington Academy. I’ve always been a fan, but this was the first time I’ve seen them live. It’s a different experience, almost entirely. The sound is massive from this power trio, and the songs flow in a way that doesn’t come across on the album. It’s not a bad thing; it’s just different. The way that live music is supposed to be. It’s clear as day that Anvil do this for the love of the music; the energy, the blood, sweat and tears of metal are alive and well across the set. And they love their fans back by powering through an over-the-top classic metal show that few bands this day and age can deliver. The Anvil tour continues across Europe, and it’s one hell of a ride and incredibly inspiring to see these guys at the top of their game, even if it came a few decades late.

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