Songfacts®:

• An anvil is a very literal piece of heavy metal, and as seen in many old cartoons, an archetype for a very heavy, dangerous and unwieldy object. This song expands on the anvil metaphor, describing the blacksmith's work in vivid detail ("Rivulets of sweat steam," "Splashes in magenta") as a way to explain the sound. The band proudly declares that they are "forming metal."
• The title track to Anvil's third album, this one drew musical inspiration from the Robin Trower song "Bridge of Sighs" and also from the Max Webster song "Battle Scar," which features members of Rush. In our interview with Anvil lead singer Lips, he explained, "I found a riff in that world and I went with it. That's what I found it to be similar to, those two songs, but maybe they're in there because they're in me, and you are what you eat or what you consume."