Anvil – Pounding The Pavement

Another year and another Anvil album to crank up. Pounding The Pavement, their seventeenth studio release due out on January 19th 2018 via Steamhammer/SPV Records follows Anvil Is Anvil, a statement of who they are and they are still blazing a trail their way! Formed by Lips and Robb Reiner, their career was forged in fire forty years ago in Toronto, Canada and their musical juggernaut still drives on.

Opener ‘Bitch In The Box’ has a grinding main riff that immediately embeds itself into your brain from the off. Lip’s rant about sat navs leads up to his first trademark over the top solo and you can imagine him all bug eyed and grinning as he lets rip. ‘Ego’ the first single from the album rages along full throttle backed by floor shaking footwork from Robb as Chris Robertson lays down some heavy bass lines. Staccato riffing propels ‘Doing What I Want’ along as Lips’ lyrics give the middle finger to those who oppose his way of life in the band, point proven by the couplet of “Critics try to bash you, take your worth away, doesn’t matter what they think, even less in what they say”. ‘Smash Your Face’ is a lumbering beast of a song as heavy drum blows back Lips’ lyrics that describe the experience of being at a gig. The title track is a worthy addition to Anvil‘s arsenal of instrumentals. Howling guitar feedback sets the table for a feast of propulsive drumming and strafing riffs and solos with touches of ‘666’ here and there.

‘Rock That Shit’ lives up to its title doing exactly what it says just by the drum intro alone as it tears along with rock and roll tinged riffing as Lips wrings solos and divebombs out of his guitar. Skynyrd influences flow through the riffs in ‘Let It Go’ backed by a huge chorus and bass lines. The heavy chug of ‘Nanook Of The North’ tells the story of an Inuit called Nanook and his family struggling to survive the harsh conditions of Port Harrison in Northern Quebec in the 1920’s, allowing Lips to write a song about Canadian history. The rat a tat rhythms of ‘Black Smoke’ propel it along on this tale of motor racing. ‘World Of Tomorrow’ is a heavy slice of Sabbath like doom topped off by a passionate lead vocal. Album closer ‘Warming Up’ is a thrilling roller coaster ride of face melting guitar solos, a song once again dedicated to putting on a show. Two bonus tracks begin with ‘Don’t Tell Me’ as Lips’ angry lyrics highlight his mistrust of the lies fed to us by the media and ‘Spark It Up’ is a race to the finish line headbanger featuring some of Lips’ most over the top soloing on the album.

The album will be available as a Digipak CD containing a bonus track + poster, double gatefold white (with black swirls) vinyl LP (+CD in a paper sleeve) or download and streaming links.

Pounding The Pavement album track listing :-

Bitch In The Box.

Ego.

Doing What I Want.

Smash Your Face.

Pounding The Pavement.

Rock That Shit.

Let It Go.

Nanook Of The North.

Black Smoke.

World Of Tomorrow.

Warming Up.

Don’t Tell Me. (bonus track)

Spark It Up. (bonus track)