Look up “perseverance” in any Canadian-edition dictionary and you’ll find a photo of Anvil, Thrash Metal godfathers. Since their 1981 debut, Hard N’ Heavy, founding members Robb Reiner and Steve “Lips” Kudlow have run the gauntlet of Heavy Metal excess, success and failure. Don’t believe me? See every teeth-gritting detail in Anvil! The Story of Anvil filmed sans smokescreen by longtime friend and former roadie Sacha Gervasi.

I laughed. I cried. I gave myself a big hug. Dreams do come true. It’s all about perseverance. . .  and a great band name. Just skip back to the ‘A’ section in that dictionary and read the definition for anvil: “A hard surface on which another object is struck; the inertia allowing the energy of the striking tool to be transferred to the work piece.”

That pointy end of the anvil is called a “horn.” How Metal can you get?

Is there a more METAL name? There’s symbolism, too. The cumulonimbus incus (incus being the Latin word for anvil), is an anvil-shaped cloud full of menace. If you ever see one heading your way, drop the remote, strap down the dog, and head for shelter—it’s gonna rain hammers, it's gonna rain tongs.

If you feel a storm brewing this Wednesday, take shelter at Underworld (251 Sainte-Catherine E). Don’t miss this opportunity to see true pioneers in the music we love: Canadian Metal legends, ANVIL! Tickets are $20 and available at admission.com and Labyrinthe boutique or get ’em at the door for $25.

Proud Canuck Metalhead, Steve "Lips" Kudlow

In the meantime, catch the calm before the storm below: My conversation with ANVIL frontman and guitarist, Steve “Lips” Kudlow, the mensch of Metal.

( BTH ) Any fond memories of Montreal throughout the years?

Steve “Lips” Kudlow: Anvil played in Montreal many times. I can remember at least three great shows at the Mustache club in the old days. I don’t think it’s there anymore (It’s not. The location in front of the old Forum on rue Lambert Closse was, naturally, torn down in the name of progress and replaced by a three-storey edifice – Ed.). Some great shows, though. I remember Club Soda, the Spectrum and another bunch, but hey, it’s been 30 years, man. I do remember a great show with Frank Marino. And there was this one time in 1985. We played in a big, huge tent near the water, in front of about 5,000 people. It was pretty wild. 

( BTH ) What sort of advice do you offer younger bands? They must seek you out on tour. 

SLK: Yeah, sure. The most important thing is to create music that no else can create but you. Sound like you—unique! And find a manager! Unfortunately, a good manager is as elusive as stardom. You won’t find one until you’ve almost made it. It’s the story of our career. But a good manager can be just as destructive as a bad one. It’s true! When your manager or management group has clout and puts you in places, they can also pull you out. It’s a tricky thing. The biggest managers have a monopoly, and they only work with the biggest agents, so it takes a lot of really hard work to maintain friendships and, in other words, make enough money to keep these people interested. Getting a manger is a real tough one. But maintain uniqueness of sound and style when you play and you have a chance.

( BTH ) Do you think you could have done this without a guy like Robb (Reiner, drums) backing you up from the beginning?

SLK: It’s not even a question we consider. Neither of us think in those terms. I mean, our friendship started in 1973, so those ideas never enter our mind. The whole purpose of Anvil was doing it together. We keep each other’s interest. And if you can do that, well . . . We recognize that what we’re doing, no one else is doing. Plus, we have the same goals, so nothing of what we do would we do separately. Besides, we only know what has happened, not what might happen.

The first incarnation of the band, from 1978 to 1989. L to R: Robb Reiner, Ian Dickson, SLK and Dave Allison.

SLK: Well there have definitely been some major changes since we started out. There’s a distinct evolution, for sure. From Slipknot to Marilyn Manson and a multitude of new metal bands, I don’t see it as positive or negative, just a really long history that’s kinda all over the page.

All of it is acceptable, and I mean accepted by the audience. And I see a lot of young bands doing what I was doing in the ’80s, so in that sense the music is almost timeless. But the whole Death Metal genre is too different from the roots for me. Without melodies and with all of these crazy time signatures that you can’t tap your toes to. . . Once you get to that point, you have to scream over top of it and that makes it just way too hard to understand or identify with. So, for me, it’s not bad or good, it’s just beyond my comprehension. But in the other extreme, all of what I call the bubblegum Metal doesn’t do it for me either.

( BTH ) Have you noticed a resurgence of Thrash in recent years?

SLK: There’s a fair bit of nostalgia, for sure. A few bands from my era are still performing. I guess we’re the last of a dying breed. There will only be replicas after we’re all gone. But at the end of the day, it’s all just music. Everything is connected to the use of the electric guitar so it’s not a music that will go away. Rock and Roll has already been around over half a century. As for Metal, you can give it different names but generally speaking, it’s the sort of music that your parents hate and continues to be, thankfully.

One of the best documentaries covering the music biz. Period. 

( BTH ) Throughout your career, you’ve seemed comfortable in the role as “that Canuck Metal band”.

SLK: Absolutely! I’m more that just comfortable with it, I feel it’s my duty. It’s how we’re recognized. Metal is an international language and it’s listened to in every country, it doesn’t matter where the band comes from. The only thing that makes us really different is the fact that we’re Canadian. Every other band represents their country whether they want to or not.

Our management always says: “How are you gonna sell shirts with Canadian emblems on them in Germany?” But we do. If any American bands put a U.S. emblem or flag on their shirts, sales drop. Its kind of political, and since Canada is one of the most democratic and safest places in the world, that’s the sort of odour we give off. Plus, like most Canadians, we have that humble attitude that we project and people appreciate that. People from all over the world show up at my door in Toronto. They come from Sweden, Japan, the States.  It’s weird but they tell me thet just want to see where “that Canadian Metalhead lives”.

( BTH ) What’s next for Anvil? Are you working on a follow-up to Juggernaut of Justice?

SLK: Of course! We’re already writing. We’ll be recording by the end of the year and a new record should be out by the spring of 2013.

Butchered At Birth. Vile. Bloodthirst. The Wretched Spawn. Yeah, based on album titles alone, there’s no arguing with the notion that Cannibal Corpse know Death Metal. For two decades now, they've lived it, breathed it in, and snacked on it like some feral dog chomping on a sac of squirming squirrel meat. So it makes sense that CC beat master Paul “The Mazurker” Mazurkiewicz will be among the guest judges for round 5 (already?!?!) of Heavy MTL’s battle of the bands.

Cannibal Corpse drummer, Paul “The Mazurker” Mazurkiewicz

It is Death Metal night, after all, on Wednesday May 16. The fun and fury goes down at Katacombes (1635 St. Laurent). Doors open at 8:30 p.m. and tickets are only $12, which gets you in to see local faves Bookakee
, Crosstitution, First Fragment and Through Death perform and compete. Up for grabs? Two spots on the Heavy MTL 2012 stage at Parc Jean-Drapeau, August 11 to 12. This is probably the event of the summer for any card-carrying Metalhead dirtbag ’banger. Be there! And buy me a beer.

Torture, via Metal Blade records

But if you can’t wait for nightfall, get down to Labyrinthe, your source for Punk and Metal accessories since 1970 at 486 Ste-Catherine West—as if you didn’t know! You didn’t?!?!?! Jesus, keep that info to your self. Shake hands and lock horns with the Metal drumming legend at a meet ’n’ greet from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. And if you haven’t done so already, get a copy of the Corpse’s latest pile of puke, Torture. Bring it to be signed. Make it a true collector’s item, ’cause, in my opinion, the band just gets better with age. And the Mazurker co-wrote two of the best tracks: “Encased in Concrete” (see the video here) and “As Deep As the Knife Will Go”: jaw-dropping, chest-caved-in perfection!

( BTH ) 

Some more good news: Thrashing madmen BornBroken, recently released a two-song CD as a preview to their upcoming summer release, The Healing Powers of Hate. Mike Decker and the boys have been hard at work on this baby for a while now. I’m cheering for them, not only because guitarists Simon Savard and Decker are friends of ( BTH ), I’ve been covering the album-making process since the beginning—about 14 months ago.

The Healing Powers of Hate

Well, it’s been worth the wait. From songs that started out as scraps of paper to a change in singers and onto mixing at Mathieu Marcotte’s (Augury) home studio. So yeah, not only some killer work produced by a killer local band, a feel-good story, too. So check out the goods here and listen in for yourselves. You may also check them and the new record at Hellfest Lanaudiere July 20 to 22, three days and nights of Quebec Metal. The BornBroken boys will be playing the Friday. For full details, go here.

( BTH )

Few countries conjure as many varied visions as India. There’s the bright, jangly kitsch of Bollywood. A spice for every mystic and philosopher. Sacred cows garzing on the banks of holy rivers. Darjeeling tea to enjoy in the afternoon with the company of a good book, like the Kama Sutra perhaps. And Gandhi? They don’t make ‘em like that anymore. But what about Metal? No way, you say?  

Son of Shiva, Ganesh is the Hindi god of knowledge and wisdom.

What if I told you the Metal scene is not only alive and well, it started the old fashioned way: Pissed off kids listening to and absorbing imported records made by other pissed off kids and said kids picking up instruments to express their angst and dissatisfaction with the status quo. Sound familir?

Sure, the long-haired, concert T-wearing hordes are just a drop in the bucket of a billion souls, but there’s no denying a Metal presence, especially outside the metropolitan area of Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay. And just as every scene needs a spark, everyone needs its leaders, bands riding the crest of the learning curve.

Mumbai’s Bhayanak Maut is leading the charge. The grinding, groove-laden sextet lives up to their name, which in Hindi means “Terrible Death”. Bhayanak Maut not only employs a dual-axe attack (Amidstya and R. Venkatraman), they showcase dual vocals of the infamous “Guttural Twins”, also known as Sunneith Revankar and Vinay Venkatesh. I was lucky enough to recently speak with Vinay via e-mail about his life and music in India.

* Note that band photos are provided courtesy of Anshul Dutt. You may view his beautiful images of dail life in India here: pixelbuffet.blogspot.in

The "Guttural Twins": Vinay Venkatesh (L) and Sunneith Revankar.

( BTH ) Can you give me a brief overview of the Indian Metal scene?

Vinay Venkatesh: I’ve seen the metal scene in India grow steadily over the past 20 years.There are  signs that it will continue to grow. For one, over the past five years, Indian metal bands have played live at several music festivals in Europe—Inferno, Brutal Assault, BloodStock, and even Wacken. This gives the world an opportunity to see that an Indian metal scene exists and it’s alive and kicking.

( BTH ) So the scene is vibrant.

V V: Yes. Quite a few Indian bands have managed to crack a distribution deal with International record labels. A handful of bands have actually been signed. Basick Records just signed and launched Skyharbor (Delhi) earlier this month. Check them out! In the mid ’90s, I saw two Indian bands—Millennium and Pentagram, yes, we have one here too—on MTV. They had a couple of videos that had decent airplay and they were the first taste of Indian Rock or Metal music for me.

( BTH ) So things took off in the late 1990s?

V V: Until about 10 years ago, the Indian Metal scene was about bands covering their favourite songs at these ‘Battle of the Bands’ competitions held at colleges and universities across the nation. At some point, bands just started to add original tracks into their set-list. Venues in the major cities (Bombay, Delhi, Bangalore, Madras, Calcutta) started allowing ‘rock shows’. Soon, bands were playing all-original sets with a cover thrown in as an encore and people would actually turn up to listen to these bands and their songs.

( BTH ) And this has opened the doors to big names in Metal, right?

V V: The past 10 years has seen Iron Maiden, Metallica, Meshuggah, Enslaved, Satyricon, Sahg, Tesseract, Benea Reach have all play in India. This month will see the first ever Bangalore Open Air Festival (modeled after Wacken, I believe) and will feature Iced Earth and Kreator. India is finally on the world metal map. We even got a mention in the Global Metal documentary a few years ago.

( BTH ) With regards to Mumbai, are there avenues and opportunities for local bands?

V V: Bombay, sadly, is a dead city for Metal music. It’s difficult to host a show. Taxes, bribes and permissions are extraordinarily high here compared to other Indian cities.  We haven’t seen a decent metal show here in ages. It’s Bollywood that rules here followed by EDM (Electronic Dance Music).  Pune, which is a 2-hour drive away, hosts an annual music festival called NH7. It’s been active for two years now and is, by far, the most professionally managed and executed music festival India has ever seen. It has a stage specifically created just for Metal bands.

( BTH ) What inspires you specifically and the band in general?

V V: My band mates inspire me the most. They are, by far, some of the most talented individuals I’ve ever met. I’ve been with the band for over eight years now. I’ve learnt a lot from them and experienced quite a bit with them. As an entity, Bhayanak Maut is inspired by what its members bring to the table. We’ve grown as artists and performers over the years and this process will never stop.

( BTH ) What are you most passionate about? Pissed off about?  

V V: As an individual, I look forward to interacting with interesting people, people who inspire me and feed me with information. I rarely get upset about anything. Happiness to me is knowing that I am without any worries.

( BTH ) How has your music been received in North America and abroad?

V V: A couple of events have helped generate a little interest about Bhayanak Maut outside India: Being a part of the Global Metal DVD; having our songs on two Metal Hammer compilation CDs; and playing live at the Inferno Metal Festival in Oslo.

( BTH ) How well-received was Metastasis in India?

V V: Metastasis, our three-song EP from 2009, was available as a free download.

It still is, over here: http://nh7.in/indiecision/2010/10/20/bhayanak-maut-metastasis-ep/

It got us a lot of new listeners in 2009 and 2010. I guess the kids loved it. As of now, our fan page on Facebook will give people easy access to our music (facebook.com/bhayanakmaut). Our next album will be accessible too. We start pre-production in May 2012 and, hopefully, we’ll see the album out in early 2013. Our approach to the songwriting has been different this time around. The songs on the album are based on a series of short stories that Sunneith and I have written over the past year. You can read eight of these stories here: http://wankatesh.posterous.com/

( BTH ) With your name, live performances and mandate, it seems as though you want to cause the audience/listener bodily harm, or at least an aural assault. Is this fair to say?

V V: Yes, you can say that. On stage, Bhayanak Maut is an intense band. We’re keen on sharing our on-stage energy with the crowds at our shows. Off stage, we’re a bunch of clowns and just want to share a few beers with everyone else.

( BTH ) What has the life of a Metal Musician provided you?

V V: Good friends, a fantastic beard and an insatiable appetite to travel to different cities and play live music.