Black Anvil

Lore & Background

Black Anvil formed in 2007 when members Paul Delaney, Gary Bennett, and Raeph Glicken left the hardcore punk band Kill Your Idols. The band's name, according to Delaney, was conceived by Bennett as a cross between a Black Sabbath reference and a Judas Priest song. They signed to Monumentum Records and released their debut album Time Insults the Mind on October 28, 2008, recorded in one weekend in Queens, New York. The album title came from a line in the song 'Margin for Terror.'

In 2010, the band signed to Relapse Records and released their second album Triumvirate on September 28, 2010. They toured extensively, including shows with Watain, Goatwhore, and a planned tour with Behemoth that was altered due to health issues of Behemoth member Nergal. In 2012, Jeremy Sosville joined as a fourth member on guitar. Their third album Hail Death was released on May 27, 2014, and was recorded with J. Robbins of Jawbox, aiming for a live and organic sound.

Subsequent albums include As Was (2017) and Regenesis (2022). The band has toured with Mayhem, Inquisition, Cannibal Corpse, Dark Funeral, Immolation, Enslaved, and Insomnium. The band's musical style blends black metal and thrash metal, and they have expressed indifference to critics who question their authenticity, stating they write what they want based on their own reaction.

Reader's Guide

Black Anvil occupies a distinctive place in the American black metal landscape as one of the few prominent bands from New York City. Their formation from the hardcore punk scene of Kill Your Idols reflects a cross-pollination of genres that has characterized their sound, which merges black metal's rawness with thrash metal's aggression. The band's signing to Relapse Records in 2010 marked a significant step, as the label reissued their debut and released their second album, helping to broaden their reach beyond the underground. Their tours with major acts such as Watain, Mayhem, and Cannibal Corpse have solidified their presence in extreme metal. The band's discography shows a progression from the raw, quickly recorded debut to more structured albums like Hail Death, which they described as darker and deeper. Their willingness to incorporate influences from hardcore punk and classic heavy metal, while maintaining a defiant stance against genre purists, has made them a notable, if sometimes contentious, figure in black metal. Their legacy lies in demonstrating that black metal can thrive outside its traditional geographic and stylistic boundaries.

Did You Know?

• Their debut album Time Insults the Mind was recorded in one weekend in Queens, New York.
• The band's third album Hail Death was influenced by Master of Puppets by Metallica and Destroyer by Kiss.
• Black Anvil formed after the members left the hardcore punk band Kill Your Idols.

Origins and the Debut

Black Anvil emerged from the New York City underground in 2007, when Paul Delaney, Gary Bennett, and Raeph Glicken banded together after their previous project, the hardcore punk outfit Kill Your Idols, dissolved. The trio signed with Monumentum Records and spent a full year crafting material for what would become their debut, Time Insults the Mind. The recording process was strikingly compressed: the band captured the entire album in a single weekend at a studio in Queens. The title itself was pulled from a lyric in the track "Margin for Terror," a phrase that resonated with the group during the naming process. The album dropped on October 28, 2008, and the band immediately threw themselves into a relentless schedule of shows across the city. Notably, Black Anvil stood as one of the very few black metal acts operating in the NYC scene at the time. As for the band's name, Delaney later explained that it was Gary's idea, blending a nod to Black Sabbath with a reference to a Judas Priest song.

The Relapse Era and the Road

In June 2010, Black Anvil secured a deal with Relapse Records, a move Delaney framed as proof that genre purism should never dictate who gets a platform. The second album, Triumvirate, was tracked in January 2010 at the studio owned by Twisted Sister's Mark Mendoza, with engineer George Fullan behind the boards. It arrived on September 28, 2010, and Relapse simultaneously reissued the debut. The touring schedule that followed was ambitious: the band shared the Scion Rock Fest stage in Ohio with Voivod, Black Tusk, and Brutal Truth in March, then headlined a slot at Hostile City Deathfest in Philadelphia in August. A planned cross-country run with Behemoth, Watain, and Withered under the banner "Lawless States of Heretika" fell apart when Behemoth's Nergal was forced to withdraw over health concerns. Undeterred, Black Anvil toured with Watain and Goatwhore from November to December 2010, and in early 2011 they announced a run with Aura Noir, Eyehategod, and Marduk.

Genre Defiance and Sonic Identity

Black Anvil has always occupied a contested space, straddling black metal and thrash metal while drawing from a sprawling list of influences that includes Celtic Frost, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Venom, Darkthrone, Sodom, Kreator, Possessed, Mercyful Fate, Poison Idea, Agnostic Front, Carnivore, Bad Brains, Black Flag, and Twisted Sister. The band has been openly hostile toward gatekeepers who police what counts as authentic black metal. Delaney has pushed back fiercely, arguing that their production remains raw despite being fuller, that they record quickly, and that their sound carries its own distinct twist. He has stated bluntly that the band writes based on their own reactions rather than trying to please listeners or fit a prescribed mold. When crafting Hail Death, the group cited Metallica's Master of Puppets and Kiss's Destroyer as touchstones, and Delaney emphasized wanting the record to feel live, organic, and structured like a narrative arc rather than compressed and sterile.

Later Albums and Enduring Presence

After a period of personal difficulty that Delaney acknowledged made the recording process for Hail Death, released May 27, 2014, particularly challenging, the band continued to evolve. In the fall of 2012, guitarist Jeremy Sosville, known as Sos, joined as a second guitarist, broadening the group's live and studio texture. They also worked with producer J. Robbins of Jawbox on that record. The fourth album, As Was, was announced in late 2016 and released on January 13, 2017, supported by a North American tour alongside Mayhem and Inquisition. After a multi-year gap, Black Anvil returned with Regenesis, announced in August 2022 and released on November 4. The supporting tour placed them on the bill with Cannibal Corpse, Dark Funeral, and Immolation that fall, and in spring 2023 they toured with Enslaved and Insomnium. Across five studio albums spanning 2008 to 2022, the band has maintained a steady, deliberately unhurried output while remaining one of the most distinctive black metal voices out of New York City.

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