Canadian heavy metal band Anvil have wasted no time in replacing longtime bassist Glenn Gyorffy (aka Glenn Five) after he officially left the band two days ago. Anvil have chosen Sal Italiano, a bassist from a Long Island, N.Y., Iron Maiden cover band to provide the low-end and shake venues worldwide.

Glenn Five spent close to 16 years with Anvil, having joined the influential heavy metal band in 1996. The bassist stuck with the band throughout a low point in their career, which was documented in the now-legendary documentary ‘Anvil: The Story of Anvil.’ Although Anvil provided heavy influence for rock legends such as Slash, Slayer and Metallica, Anvil struggled to reach the top of their genre until the documentary sky-rocketed the band’s career in 2008.

We reported on Five’s official statement yesterday, where he explained that he felt “limited creatively” with Anvil. The bassist continued, “I have a wide taste in music and I feel that it’s time to broaden my horizons.”

Anvil frontman Steve “Lips” Kudlow was quick to comment on the departure of Glenn Five, posting a detailed and in-depth look into the situation and the future of the band on Anvil’s official Facebook page:

We hired an old friend to do the tour and are currently working with a new improved bassist. There was no major issue in fixing this at all and in fact everything was sorted out within a few hours of Glenn departing. Glenn tried to make it difficult by leaving without proper notice but we’ve been preparing for this for quite sometime. This did end up for the better as it is a huge improvement with our new guy both musically as well as personally.

Anvil recently released their latest record in the form of 2011s ‘Juggernaut of Justice,’ which earned a No. 12 position on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart. The band kicks off a new tour Jan. 27 in Ohio.

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