Metal on Metal

Album: Metal on Metal (1982)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • A very meta metal rocker, this song is all about the genre itself - how it feels to be at a metal concert with the music blasting in your ears. Anvil, subject of the 2008 documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil, certainly had the bona fides to pull off such a song. The title track to their second album, it became their anthem and a proven attention-getter when they played festivals like Reading and Donington.
  • In our interview with Anvil lead singer Lips (Steve Kudlow), he explained that this song started with a riff he came up with on guitar. "The sound of the riff made me think of the title 'Metal on Metal,'" he said. "It just sounded like that's what was emanating from the guitar. I could actually hear the vocal there."

    Lips says that once he had the title, it took him about 15 minutes to finish the song.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

N.W.A vs. the World

N.W.A vs. the WorldSong Writing

How the American gangsta rappers made history by getting banned in the UK.

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In Songs

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In SongsSong Writing

Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.

80s Music Quiz 1

80s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

MTV, a popular TV theme song and Madonna all show up in this '80s music quiz.

Tim Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Tim Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Tim and his brother Richard are the Furs' foundation; Tim explains how they write and tells the story of "Pretty In Pink."

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. SchmitSongwriter Interviews

The longtime Eagle talks about soaring back to his solo career, and what he learned about songwriting in the group.

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.