ANVIL (Eng.)
– This same year you have released a new album, «Juggernaut of Justice»; an album that brings back the most traditional ANVIL. How was like the creation of this new effort? And are you guys happy with the final outcome?
We had a great experience in writing and recording the new album and are very happy with the results…
– You have been touring next to THE RODS and DIO DISCIPLES. How has this tour gone? And how did the arise the idea of joining them?
We did 4 shows with them, which were all very good. We have the same booking agent and that is how and why it happened.
– During this later years you have been quite popular because of the «The Story of Anvil’s» documentary. Have you noticed after that, and after all these years fighting, you are finally getting part of the recognition you guys deserve?
It’s not a matter of deserving, it’s more about earning. We have been at it a long time and things are doing well. We got very lucky, we were at the right place and time with the right things going on.
– You are one of the most active bands in Metal since the early 80’s; how have you managed surviving all this?
By not expecting to get paid for any of it, there was never disappointment. Pure honest devotion and dedication to our music is how we survived.
– During your beginnings with albums as «Hard ‘n’ Heavy», «Metal on Metal» and «Forged in Fire» you managed to create efforts that
were, and still are, Heavy Metal legends. How was like that period where it seemed you were going to be a really huge band? What exactly happened?
After the release of Forged in Fire the management we hired couldn’t secure a release for our albums in the USA. He then pulled us out of the record deal we had and left us with no way to record new music. This resulted in us having to self finance our own recording. It took 4 years to get released from Aerosmiths manager David Krebs and we finally went in and recorded Strength of Steel.
– During 1987 and 1988 you recorded, for Metal Blade, efforts as «Strength of Steel» and «Pound for Pound». Metal Blade was, and still is, a record label with several bands and power; was this a good
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move or didn’t go as you expected?
At the time this deal was all I could find on my own without management. In order for a band to succeed you need to be represented by management. This is what secures opening slots in huge venues in order to raise the awareness and stature of a band. There was no support for touring in this capacity or any dividends paid to the band. In the end the label made money but never paid the band.
– I would like to put special emphasis in the record you released back in 1992, «Worth the Weight»; an unknown album for many people and, at the same time, pretty well-cared musically. How was this album released and why didn’t reach everywhere?
Interestingly when I approached Metal Blade with this they didn’t want it. This recording we paid for with our own money and it took a couple years to recoup. We did secure a release for it in Europe with a label called
Mausoleum. It did very well but as usual without management and real label support it got only as big as it could.
– Still in the 90’s, while the unplugged albums and alternative stuff was so «in», you guys replied with albums such as «Plugged in Permanent» or «Absolutely no Alternative». Those were rabid efforts. How do you now see those albums in that decade full of modernness?
When we wrote for those records the attitude was all about putting everything you could think of into a song. It was extreme and not really what we were known for originally.
– The last thing from the 90’s was «Speed of Sound». In my humble
opinion, it was a bit bleak record; did the end of this decade affect you?
Speed of Sound was a fantastic record and I think to this day the songs stand up. This was quite well received and to this day there are many requests to hear the songs live. This recording was during a prosperous time for us. We toured in Europe with Overkill which was a fantastic tour. The general moral of the band was good and we felt as though we were building toward a great place musically. This was our first of four recordings with Peirre Remellard . Plenty of Power was the best of the 4 as we used an analog recording from Studio Victor in Montreal and then digitally mixed it at another studio where the legendary Roc Voison recorded.
– And then the 00’s were right there and the band went back to their roots during the first decade of the 2000’s, releasing albums more oriented to the traditional Heavy Metal style of the band. Did you get more support with Massacre Records? And did you deliberately want to recover that more classical style that albums as «Plenty of Power», «Still going Strong», «Back to Basics» or «This
is Thirteen» have?
Yes we began our journey home so to speak. We had used permeations of D tuning and I began to feel trapped by the limitations of having my guitar tuned different. As we went along I began reverting to regular tuning and of course by doing this it affected the sound of my voice. Eventually we got back to where we began, and what people liked about us originally.
– Coming back to these current days; what do you have in mind right now? Are you going to do a «solo» tour or will you play festivals next year?
Probably festivals next summer and a tour with Saxon in November..
– How do you see yourself in 10 years from now? I personally hope you’ll keep ong releasing albums and also hope there will be one more documentary; what are your thoughts about it?
I hope to still be healthy, then everything is possible.
– And well, finally, a bastic questions; who did come up with the idea of having 3-word-titles for each ANVIL release? Also that the first one and last one may start with the same letter…
We originally titled our first cd Hard and Heavy and it worked so well with the name Anvil we thought we might try to look for something new like that… So when I came up with the riff for Metal on Metal I could hear the lyric in my head and then thought there’s the title we were looking for…we then began our tradition that is now over 30 years..of using alliteration in all our album titles.
