The
New Wave of British Heavy Metal (frequently abbreviated as
NWOBHM) was a
heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in
Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as
Deep Purple,
Led Zeppelin and
Black Sabbath.
Reviled or ignored by many mainstream critics in both the UK and the US, the NWOBHM nonetheless came to dominate the heavy metal scene of the early-mid 1980s. NWOBHM was musically characterized by fast upbeat tempo songs, power chords, fast guitar solos and melodic, soaring vocals, with lyrical themes often drawing inspiration from mythology and fantasy fiction.
Many of the bands of this era were signed to Neat Records, who has released volumes of NWOBHM compilations in later years.
History
Welsh group,
Budgie, are considered precursors to the movement for they have been cited as, "a seminal influence on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal". Also
Judas Priest, who while predating the movement by several years would later become a part of it.
The early movement was associated with acts such as
Iron Maiden,
Def Leppard,
Saxon,
Motörhead,
Angel Witch,
Tygers of Pan Tang,
Blitzkrieg,
Avenger,
Sweet Savage,
Girlschool,
Jaguar,
Demon,
Diamond Head,
Samson and
Tank, among others. The image of bands such as
Saxon, consisting of long hair, denim jackets, leather and chains, would later become synonymous with
heavy metal as a whole during the 1980s. Some bands, although conceived during this era, saw success on an underground scale, as was the case with
Venom and
Quartz.
Decline
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal suffered the same decline as many other musical movements. Many of the movement's leaders were unable to follow up on their initial successes. In addition, many bands moved further away from the era towards mainstream
hard rock, with Def Leppard in particular targeting the American market with a more refined sound despite having major success. By the mid 1980s, young rock fans found a more commercial metal scene emanating from
Los Angeles led by bands such as
Mötley Crüe, and
Poison. Record companies also latched onto the Los Angeles artists over the more underground NWOBHM bands. In addition,
thrash metal, another new but much less mainstream metal scene, emerged around the same time, and attracted many rock fans for being even faster and even heavier than NWOBHM, despite originating from the movement.
Subsequent influence
Groups such as
Motörhead,
Iron Maiden,
Venom, and
Saxon, as well as many lesser-known ones, became part of the canon that influenced American bands that formed in the early eighties, such as
Metallica. Metallica's early material has been influenced by a number of NWOBHM bands, including
Diamond Head.
In 1990 Lars Ulrich of Metallica compiled a double CD compilation album, entitled NWOBHM '79 Revisited, featuring bands as obscure as Hollow Ground right through to the major acts of the era.
Revival
The widespread popularity of the internet in the late 1990s/early 2000s helped the New Wave of British Heavy Metal fans to communicate again and some NWOBHM bands experienced a minor revival. Encouraged by the success of tribute bands and nostalgia acts, many of the original NWOBHM bands reformed for successful tours and the revival was championed by
Classic Rock magazine, a new publication featuring many of the original NWOBHM writers of the 1980s including
Geoff Barton.
Origin of the term
During the first
Metal Crusade Music Machine tour, Samson, Angel Witch and Iron Maiden - among others - played a gig in London on 8 May 1979.
Geoff Barton reviewed the show in
Sounds magazine using the term
New Wave Of British Heavy Metal to coin a common stylistic element of the bands' music.
Media support
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal existed mostly outside the world of the mainstream pop and rock culture. Magazines such as
The NME,
The Face and
Melody Maker did not generally feature NWOBHM acts at all. It was left therefore to
Sounds to feature NWOBHM artists. Geoff Barton began writing features on the new up and coming metal bands and
Sounds even featured a weekly Heavy Metal chart compiled from record requests at “The Soundhouse”, a heavy metal 'disco' in North West London and the spiritual home of the movement. Barton set up
Kerrang!, the first magazine exclusively devoted to
heavy metal. Making a massive impact for the genre in London, both on air and with their own 'roadshow' with many appearances in rock pubs & clubs, was pirate rock station
Alice's Restaurant Rock Radio.
List of NWOBHM artists
This is a list of bands signed to record labels who emerged during the NWOBHM era of music:
A II Z
Angel Witch
Atomkraft
Avenger
Battleaxe
Blitzkrieg
Bronz
Cloven Hoof
(Early) Def Leppard
Demon
Diamond Head
Dumpy's Rusty Nuts
E. F. Band
Elixir
Ethel the Frog
Fireclown
Fist
Gillan
Girlschool
Grim Reaper
Hollow Ground
Holocaust
Iron Maiden
Jaguar
Jameson Raid
Judas Priest
Legend
Lionheart
Mama's Boys
Marseille
More
Motörhead
Nightwing
Pagan Altar
Persian Risk
Praying Mantis
Quartz
Raven
Rock Goddess
Salem
Samson
Satan
Saxon
Shy (formerly known as Trojan)
Spider
Starfighters
Sweet Savage
Tank
Tokyo Blade
Trespass
Tygers of Pan Tang
Tytan
Urchin
Vardis
Venom
White Spirit
Witchfinder General
Witchfynde
Wrathchild
References
Notes
External links
The NWOBHM Online Encyclopedia
Category:British music
Category:Heavy metal
Category:European culture
