The Anvil was recorded in the latter part of 1981 at Mayfair Studios, London by the same line-up of the first album, except for John McGeoch who had left both Visage and Magazine to join Siouxsie and the Banshees.

The original vinyl release of the album came in an embossed/textured sleeve (considered as deluxe packaging for the time), and a limited number of copies (3,000) came with a free poster of Steve Strange posing with a number of models at the Hôtel George-V in Paris (the poster is an extended shot of the 12" single cover of "The Damned Don't Cry").

The Anvil was re-issued in the UK on CD by Cherry Red Records on 17 March 2008, containing six bonus tracks and detailed liner notes.

[7] In his retrospective review, Dan LeRoy of AllMusic wrote that "almost all the band's efforts on The Anvil are extremely well-crafted synth pop.

"[9] All tracks are written by Visage (Billy Currie, Rusty Egan, Dave Formula, Steve Strange and Midge Ure) ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.