Mayhem Rockstar Magazine

Anvil Offers Audiences Some Of Its Best Work To Date With ‘One And Only’

Anvil is celebrating a new milestone this year.  As of this year, the band has now been in existence for 51 years (more than half a century), having originally formed in 1973.  As the band marks its new high point this year, it is doing so in positive fashion with its latest album, One and Only.  Released earlier this month through AFM Records, the 12-song album is arguably the veteran rock act’s best work to date.  That is due in part to its featured musical arrangements, which will be discussed shortly.  The lyrical themes that accompany said content adds to the record’s appeal and will be discussed a little later.  The record’s production puts the finishing touch to the whole and will also be examined later.  Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of One and Only.  All things considered they make One and Only one more welcome addition to this year’s already crowded field of new rock albums.

One and Only, the latest full-length studio offering from Anvil (the band’s 20th album), is a positive new offering from the veteran rock outfit.  The album’s success comes in part through its featured musical arrangements.  From the record’s opening to its finale, the musical arrangements featured throughout offer a clear vintage rock influence.  Right from the opener/title track, listeners immediately get a distinct AC/DC-esque blues rocker.  Vocalist/guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow’s infectious guitar riff and drummer Robb Reiner’s steady time keeping in the 4/4 composition make that clear.  At the same time that the AC/DC comparison proves so clear, the band also gives the song its own unique touch to give the song its own identity even with the comparison there.

In another case, ‘Feed Your Fantasy’ offers listeners a little bit of the hair metal style and sound that made the 80s so intriguing for rock fans.  As if all of that is not enough, the band even offers some equally clear Motorhead comparisons in the likes of ‘Fight For Your Rights’ and ‘Gold and Diamonds.’  That comparison is especially strong as Kudlow’s vocal delivery actually conjures thoughts of the late, great Lemmy Kilmister, believe it or not, in both songs.

‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ takes the band in a little bit more of an Iron Maiden type direction.  That is evidenced collectively from Kudlow, Reiner and bassist Chris “Christ” Roberson’s power metal approach.  The power metal approach is echoed in a different fashion later in the record in ‘World of Fools.’  In the case of this composition, it is more comparable to works from the likes of Saxon and Judas Priest than Iron Maiden, showing even more diversity in the album’s overall musical presentation.  Much the same can be said of the album’s closer, ‘Blind Rage.’  When that arrangement and the others examined here are considered along with the rest of the album’s musical entries, the whole therein exhibits a fresh, fun new musical presentation that is sure to engage and entertain audiences.

The musical content featured in Anvil’s latest album is just part of what makes the album worth hearing.  Its lyrical themes are noticeably different this time out from those in the album’s predecessors.  This was no accident, either.  Kudlow said in an interview ahead of the album’s release, that the band intentionally “dropped all more modern aspects, particularly the 90s version of Anvil.  No sexual topics and no thrash speed songs like…on past albums.”  In the case of this album, the topics in question are far more “mature” with each being its own sociopolitical commentary.  One of the most notable of those commentaries comes almost halfway through the album in the form of ‘Gold and Diamonds.’  In this song, the band takes on the jewel industry and people who have fallen for the industry’s tricks (how many bands out there can say they went this route, lyrically?).  Kudlow sings here of the topics, “The hunt for precious metal began ages ago/The value it holds in possession/Only the wealthy to know/They discovered a special substance/The hardest known to man/They called it a diamond/And set the price as high as they can/Duped and had/All just a fad.”  Anyone who may not be aware with the former great TV show Adam Ruins Everything, this sounds like it came right from an episode of the underappreciated show that took on the jewel industry and how it led people to believe the only way for men to show their love for women is to buy overly expensive diamonds.  Audiences are encouraged to watch the episode in question to fully appreciate the message Anvil is delivering here.  Kudlow continues the message in the song’s second verse, singing, “All just a fad/Adorning themselves with jewels/Being selfish to the one/Keeping up with the Joneses/And always wanting more/Duped and had/All just a fad.”  This verse is the noted indictment of how the jewel industry’s work has itself served to maintain a certain social gap around the world.  Keeping all of this in mind, this simple statement is so powerful in its delivery.

Another example of the power and importance of the album’s lyrical content comes in the form of the album’s second song, ‘Feed Your Fantasy.’  One of the album’s singles, too, it delivers a theme of making the most of life.  This is made clear right from the song’s outset as Kudlow sings, “Make your dream come true is what you do/Loving it too/Through and through/Make your time worthwhile/Make you smile/Live to win/With a grin/Don’t just scheme/Live life/The dream.”  This comes directly across as an uplifting message of making the most of one’s life.  Kudlow continues the inferred message in the song’s second verse as he sings, “Happiness is for the soul to feed/Taking control/Taking the lead/Don’t just scheme/Live for the dream.”  Again, there is that driving statement about living the dream.  Kudlow is telling listeners to go after what they want, to chase their dreams.  It is such an uplifting message that is so easily accessible.  That accessibility and uplifting nature makes this lyrical theme familiar but still just as welcome as from any other band’s songs.

‘Condemned Liberty,’ which comes in the record’s second half, is yet another key example of how the album’s lyrical themes prove just as important as its musical arrangements.  It is another familiar theme, too, and as engaging as from other bands’ songs.  In the case of this song, Kudlow seems to address both the rampant uber-liberal movement that has swept America in recent years while also condemning what the Trump administration caused prior. So it addresses both sides.  This is inferred as Kudlow sings in the song’s lead verse and chorus, “Freedom abuse becomes an excuse/For the fools to change the rules/Cancel culture/An evil vulture/Teaching their history in schools/Purity of insecurity worst fears/And the most tears/Lay the blame upon the insane/No one ever hears/Priority of the majority exchange/To make great change/Talking head/Better off dead/A leader known to be deranged/Protest/regressed/Into defeat/Condemned liberty.”  He continues in the song’s second verse, “Freedom abused/Logic refused/For the fools who made the rules/Cancel culture an evil vulture/Teaching done by tools/Insanity of humanity losing rights/Freedom fights/Always the same/Passing the blame/Out go the lights/Condemned liberty.”  Again, here is a strong sociopolitical commentary that indicts both sides of the aisle.  From the uber liberal left to the deranged former president and even to the talking heads on both sides’ news networks, the band seems to take on the whole establishment.  It is a strong indictment and in turn, one more example of what makes One and Only’s lyrical content just as important as its musical arrangements.  When it is considered alongside the themes examined in the other songs here and those songs with the rest of the album’s entries, the whole therein makes the album’s lyrical content, the whole gives audiences all the more reason to take in the album.

The overall musical and lyrical content featured in One and Only is only part of what makes the album worth hearing.  The record’s production adds to its appeal.  That is because of the balance that it brings to the instrumentation in each song and the vocals.  From beginning to end, the two halves compliment one another quite well, even with the power in each song’s instrumentation and vocals.  The positive aesthetic that results from that expert work works with the album’s overall content to make the record a positive new offering from Anvil.

One and Only, the latest studio offering from Anvil, is some of the band’s best work to date in its more than half-century life.  That is due in part to the album’s featured musical arrangements, which take listeners back to a bygone era of rock while giving them a much welcome modern touch at the same time.  The lyrical themes that accompany said musical content is of its own importance here because it is just as accessible and familiar as the noted musical arrangements.  The record’s production rounds out its most important elements, establishing a positive aesthetic that makes the album easy to take in from beginning to end.  Each item examined here is important in its own way to the whole of the album’s presentation.  All things considered they make One and Only one more of this year’s top new rock albums.

One and Only is available now through AFM Records.  More information on One and Only is available along with all of Anvil’s latest news at:

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