NEW WAVE OF BRITISH HEAVY METAL

The 'New Wave of British Heavy Metal' (frequently abbreviated as 'NWOBHM' or 'N.W.O.B.H.M.') emerged in the late 1970s and reached mainstream attention in the early 1980s, in the United Kingdom, as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. The NWOBHM got rid of the blues influences of earlier acts, upped the tempo, and adopted a tougher sound, taking a more hardcore approach to its music. It didn't have any intention to win a wide audience — it was directed almost exclusively at metal fans. It is widely considered to be the main foundation of all modern-day metal along with thrash acts such as Metallica, which cited bands like Diamond Head as influence.^[1]

Contents

Characteristics

History

The NWOBHM artists

Decline

Subsequent influence

Revival

Media support

The Soundhouse

References

See also

External links

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, Iron Maiden, Tygers of Pan Tang, Def Leppard, Motörhead, Triarchy, Blitzkrieg, Sweet Savage, Girlschool, Saxon, Diamond Head, Samson and Tank, 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. It is interesting to note that Rob Halford, lead singer of Judas Priest, has admitted to in many interviews, and is credited with, starting the heavy metal macho leather look by buying outfits from macho gay bondage shops. Some bands, although conceived during this era, saw success on an underground scale, as was the case with Venom and Quartz.
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, Dawn Trader, Mendes Prey, Mithrandir, Scorched Earth, Twisted Ace, Hellanbach, Zenith, Distrainers, who later changed their name to 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.
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. By the mid 1980s, young rock fans searching for their own identities found a new metal scene emanating from Los Angeles led by bands such as Mötley Crüe and later Guns N' Roses. Record companies also latched onto the L.A. scene over the NWOBHM scene because the L.A. bands brought them the one thing heavy metal hadn't yet brought into the fold - legions of female fans. Glam metal simply proved to be more profitable for record companies during this era.
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 sound, while Iron Maiden stayed with a more traditional heavy metal style which won them a large and loyal fanbase. Saxon and Venom 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 lesser-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.

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 soundhouse 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.
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.

References

1. New Wave of British Heavy Metal at Allmusic.com

See also

★ List of NWOBHM artists

External links

★ The NWOBHM Online Encyclopedia