New wave of British heavy metal

NWOBHM
Stylistic origins	Traditional heavy metalPunk rock
Cultural origins	Late 1970s, early 1980s United Kingdom
Typical instruments	Guitar - Bass - Drums

The New Wave of British Heavy Metal (frequently abbreviated as NWOBHM or N.W.O.B.H.M.) emerged in the late 1970s, in the United Kingdom, as a reaction in part to the decline of traditional heavy metal bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. It was also a reaction against punk rock, although ironically it incorporated many of British punk's innovations, and some of its aesthetic.

Characteristics

NWOBHM's music reacted against the artifice of contemporary pop, placing an emphasis on musicianship and amplification, the former trait setting it apart from punk rock. Yet, unlike progressive rock, which placed a far greater emphasis on musical complexity, and unlike post-punk, which emphasized 'strangeness' and innovation, the NWOBHM thrived on volume, speed, and directness, with an idealised working class image. (Its closest counterpart in the British rock-musical landscape of the time was Oi! -- a stripped-down, working-class variant of punk, which usually had little of heavy metal's technical prowess, but cross-fertilized with the new wave of British metal bands via groups such as the Cockney Rejects.)

Reviled or ignored by many mainstream critics in both the UK and the US, the NWOBHM nonetheless came to dominate the hard rock scene of the early-mid 1980s. NWOBHM was musically characterised by power chords, fast guitar solos and melodic, soaring vocals, with lyrical themes often drawing inspiration from mythology, fantasy fiction, and the occult. The movement's music was, however, often surprisingly melodic, and surprisingly parallel to punk and post-punk.

History

The NWOBHM artists

The early movement was associated with the likes of Angel Witch, The Stand-Ins, Iron Maiden, Tygers of Pan Tang, Def Leppard, Triarchy, Blitzkrieg, Quartz, Sweet Savage, Girlschool, Saxon, Diamond Head, and Samson, among others. The image of bands such as Saxon (long hair, denim jackets, leather and chains) would later become synonymous with heavy metal as a whole during the 1980s

Despite the variable success of bands such as Iron Maiden, Saxon, and Def Leppard, the true heart of the movement revolved around the seemingly endless supply of British bands playing similar styles at the time. NWOBHM is mostly associated with punk rock aesthetically through the DIY and minimalist ethics of most of the bands, many of whom literally did not last beyond a demo recorded in a bedroom. Looking at most comprehensive lists of bands of the time reveals hundreds of obscure or short lived acts such as Expozer, Jaguar, Mendes Prey, Mithrandir, Twisted Ace, Hellanbach, Zenith, Alien and Dragster. While the average heavy metal fan would possibly gloss over these no-namers while looking for more recognizable acts, record collectors revere such bands.

One of the most prolific and pioneering NWOBHM bands is widely believed to be Steve Zodiac's underground act Vardis, despite a reasonably short spanning career; and have been hailed by giants like Metallica and Diamond Head as a great influence.

The sheer number of low rent demos and 7 inch records of the era (the number is indeed in the thousands), as well as the limited amount of information and media coverage of the genre, has led to most of the releases becoming individual record collecting holy grails.

Records originally pressed for likely less than £1 have sold more recently to collectors for hundreds of dollars. In some cases as low as 1 copy of a record is known to exist. Hollow Ground's Warlord 7 inch is probably the most prominent example. Acetates in those days were normally studio master copies kept as backup, so a very limited few of the recording exist. The band is also literally unknown by any standards, as each member is listed on the center label by their first name, and only one newspaper mention of the band playing live has ever been uncovered.

Considering that many further bands possibly did not even last long enough to record their material, it must be taken into account that during the golden years of the genre (1978-1981) upwards of a thousand NWOBHM bands may have existed.

Decline

NWOBHM suffered the same fate as many other musical movements. First, the majority of its leading lights were unable to follow up on their initial successes. Second, the superstars moved further away from the genre towards mainstream hard rock. The new young rock fans searching for their own identity found a new metal scene emanating from Los Angeles and by the middle/end of the 1980s, America had become the center of heavy metal, spawning bands such as Van Halen and Guns N' Roses (Though Van Halen made their debut album in the late 70s).

Iron Maiden and Def Leppard however, went on to considerable, lasting success, with Def Leppard in particular successfully targeting the American market with a more refined Glam Metal-esque sound. Saxon were also able to maintain a respectable amount of success even after the NWOBHM had declined.

Subsequent influence

Groups such as Saxon, Iron Maiden, Angel Witch and Venom, as well as many less well-known ones, became part of the canon that influenced American bands that formed in the early eighties, such as Slayer, Megadeth and, in particular, Metallica, along with many others. Indeed, early Metallica is very similar in sound to a number of NWOBHM bands (in particular, Diamond Head, Motörhead and Blitzkrieg, the songs of each of which have been covered by Metallica.)

Lars Ulrich of Metallica compiled a double CD compilation album in the early nineties featuring bands as obscure as Hollow Ground right through to the 'Supergroups' of the Genre.

Revival

The widespread popularity of the internet in the late 1990s/early 2000s however, helped NWOBHM fans to communicate again and NWOBHM experienced a minor revival. Encouraged by the success of tribute bands / 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.

Malc MacMillan wrote the Encyclopædia of the NWOBHM (Published by Iron Pages in 2001). This is the most comprehensive guide to the genre (nearly 800 pages and featuring around 500 groups) and an essential purchase for any serious collectors or those with more than a passing interest.

Media support

The NWOBHM existed mostly outside the world of the mainstream pop and rock culture. Magazines such as The NME (primarily focused on punk / new wave), The Face (primarily focused on new romantic / synth pop) and Melody Maker (primarily focused on rock) did not generally feature NWOBHM acts at all. It was left therefore to Sounds to pick up the NWOBHM baton. Young writer Geoff “Deaf” 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.

As the movement continued to thrive Barton set up Kerrang!, the first magazine exclusively devoted to heavy metal.

Metal Hammer magazine on the other hand, is one of the few modern issues to focus entirely on heavy metal itself.

Tommy Vance was one of the few mainstream DJs to play NWOBHM on his Friday Rock Show on BBC Radio 1.

The Soundhouse

The Soundhouse was London’s first heavy rock disco based initially at The Bandwagon, a disco / nightclub venue attached to the Prince of Wales public house in Kingsbury, North West London. The Soundhouse’s popularity really took off with the arrival in 1975 of Neal Kay, a rock DJ with a talent for showmanship and publicity who transformed the venue into the centre of the new movement. In addition to rock disco nights, Neal would promote early live performances of NWOBHM bands such as Samson, Angel Witch, Praying Mantis, Saxon and Iron Maiden, who titled their debut EP release “The Soundhouse Tapes” in honour of the venue.

The Soundhouse also gained approval from the more established rock bands and Motörhead, Sammy Hagar, April Wine, Rainbow and Judas Priest all turned up to mingle with punters and enjoy an evening of metal and beer; many of them being cajoled into judging headbanging and air guitar competitions featuring "imaginary bands" made up of the club's regular punters. Among these was one Robin Yeatman, a local wedding photographer and heavy rock fanatic, who went by the nickname of Rob Loonhouse. Rob fashioned a cardboard (and later hardboard) guitar which he took to the club and pretended to play during his favourite songs. The craze caught on, with other club goers following suit and the development of various ad-hoc headbanging bands: Willy Flasher & The Raincoats being among the most popular. Loonhouse himself was to feature in many of the music press articles about the Soundhouse - cutting a distinctive look in canvas fishing hat and sweat-soaked Blue Öyster Cult T-shirt, while wiedling his homemade axe. An edition of the pop culture TV show, 20th Century Box, included footage from the Soundhouse and interviews with Loonhouse, in which, sadly, his tongue-in-cheek humour was lost. Wisely, Loonhouse ditched the hardboard guitar soon after and retreated from the media spotlight.

Kay successfully grew The Soundhouse franchise beyond Kingsbury helping to spread the NWOBHM word through “Heavy Metal Crusade” tours with the likes of Saxon and Iron Maiden and warming up the crowds at other London venues such as Camden’s Music Machine.

In 1980, a disagreement with the brewery led to “The Soundhouse” moving to “The Headstone” public house in North Harrow and subsequently, “The Queen’s Arms” in Harrow and Wealdstone, “The Royal Standard” in Walthamstow and “The Clay Pigeon” in Eastcote which hosted the final Soundhouse night in 1992. The new millennium, however, has seen Kay perform at annual Soundhouse reunion events at “The Rayners” public house in Rayners Lane, near Harrow, although with the closure of this venue in 2006 the organisers are now searching for a suitable alternative venue.

See also

• List of NWOBHM artists

External links

• The NWOBHM Online Encyclopedia