New Wave of British Heavy Metal

It was 25 years ago today... and while the ridiculously titled New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) didn't create the same impact as Sergeant Peppers, it has certainly left an indelible mark on heavy music since. The late 1970s wave of British metal acts, including Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, Angel Witch, Def Leppard, Venom and Blitzkrieg, influenced in no uncertain way thrash, death and black metal. In fact, Metallica were so enamoured of the movement that they practically created a parallel career covering many tracks by these acts - tracks which otherwise may have slipped into total obscurity.

To mark the 25th anniversary of the coining of the NWOBHM term, English magazine Record Collector included a feature in its April issue. Focusing on a handful of the main acts, also present was a piece by Geoff Barton, a journalist who was instrumental in bringing the movement into the public spotlight. Barton worked for the defunct Sounds magazine, whose editor Big Al Lewis is credited with the creation of the NWOBHM moniker. The story, carried in the May 19, 1979 issue, centred on Barton's attendance at an Iron Maiden, Angel Witch and Samson gig at London's Music Machine venue.

At this time punk was in its decline, but had wreaked much damage. It had effectively washed away the early seventies metal acts, who were perhaps rightfully viewed as one of punks many enemies. Metal's mid-seventies excesses - Led Zep's The Song Remains the Same being the zenith - had seen it become a flatulent parody of the lean and mean heavy blues it had once been. Led Zep, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath were demi-gods Stateside, but had lost all relevance at home, where punk's year zero regime had a no tolerance attitude towards the past.

In the wake of the seventies dinosaurs had come the no nonsense distorted rock'n'roll of Motorhead and Judas Priest - two distinctly different acts who could be viewed as the older brothers of NWOBHM. The new acts tapped into this vein of purist heavy metal, and injected into it a dose of punk's attitude - both musically and in the approach to getting things done. If record companies wouldn't release their albums, they'd do it themselves, if venues wouldn't have them, they'd set up and promote their own shows. In this respect, the new wave was driven by youth, energy and naive ambition. And a rabid belief in heavy metal as not just a musical style, but as a self-perpetuating, almost transcendent lifestyle choice.

It's this trait that can be found throughout the universe of acts directly or indirectly influenced by NWOBHM. From Metallica, Exodus, Slayer and Megadeth in the States, to Kreator, Sodom, Hellhammer and Destruction in Germany, metal has been preached as a faith, a world within a world, a self-supporting microcosm. Well, that and a good excuse to wear denim and leather. But then, as far as rock'n'roll fashion goes, that's about as street-level honest as it gets. Certainly, unlike punk, the NWOBHM didn't concern itself with image. While its unwitting biker chic, occult role-playing and nihilistic outlook made it ripe for parody (Spinal Tap, Bad News) it's a genre entirely unaffected by trend.

So why has the legacy of the NWOBHM been so far reaching? Possibly because it re-introduced the elements that had made the original heavy metal acts like Sabbath so compelling - raw aggression married to technical ability, unbridled confidence, an uncompromising rock'n'roll outsider attitude, and a gang-like self-sufficiency that the working classes could relate to. Take the case of Metallica.

Drummer Lars Ulrich was so obsessed with the NWOBHM bands that he went and stayed with Diamond Head to soak up the scene. Metallica went on to cover four tracks by that band -'Am I Evil?', 'The Prince', 'Sucking My Love' and 'Helpless' - all stone cold classics. Metallica also covered material from Holocaust, Savage, Blitzkrieg, and Sweet Savage. Ulrich's interest in the genre has seen him contribute sleevenotes to re-issues, such as the Diamond Head compilation Behold the Beginning. "Diamond Head's way of creating music, with that heavy emphasis on songwriting, hard riffs, structures and tempo changing was a big influence in the early days of the band I'm in."

While the more melodic, classic rock approach of Def Leppard and Saxon saw them become platinum acts, it was the likes of Venom and Iron Maiden who proved most influential. Venom were a massive influence on thrash, death and black metal in Europe and North America, both in terms of general satan worshipping imagery and balls-to-the-wall musical mayhem. This seemed to be a manifestation of all the religious right's worst nightmares come true, the very definition of metal excess, and therefore the spiritual godfather of a million bands to come. As Geoff Barton's Record Collector piece notes, one wily scribe paraphrased a popular catchphrase of the time, saying "Home taping is killing music. And so are Venom." For those that remember Comic Strip's brilliant metal parody Bad News, specifically when Nigel Planer's character sulkily refuses to get into the van because Adrian Edmondson's frontman character has said that the band is not metal, here's the original from Venom's Cronos: "That's when I said that Venom were not heavy metal, we were much more than that..."

Iron Maiden, on the other hand, continue to roll along as the multi-national juggernaut they have been since the mid-eighties. Their first two albums (Iron Maiden and Killers) with vocalist Paul Di'Anno are amongst the strongest statements from the entire NWOBHM pantheon. Di'Anno's gritty street tales and no bullshit persona combined with the hard-edged melodic metal primarily conceived by Maiden founder Steve Harris instantly gained the band a feverish fan base. This soon spread across the globe, especially after ex-Samson vocalist Bruce Dickinson replaced Di'Anno to record 1982's classic The Number of the Beast. Few metal acts since have emulated Iron Maiden's longevity and singularity of purpose. Ironically, Metallica looked like the rightful inheritors of the mantle until the wheels fell off circa 1991, when they abandoned their NWOBHM roots in favour of cod-American hard rock, thanks to one Bob Rock.

The New Wave of British Heavy Metal's influence spread through the metal world like a virus, giving it a refreshing shot of vitality at a time when it most needed it. Its dark but benevolent shadow hung over the metal world until the mid-nineties, when a nu type of supposed metal emerged, a pale, fraudulent movement with none of the proletarian substance that the NWOBHM engendered in its offspring. As Marcel Schirmer from German thrash band Destruction says of the movement, "The energy and the non-conformity makes me resistant against our boring society...metal is more than just music - it's a fuckin' lifestyle."

Ten New Wave of British Heavy Metal Albums to start with:
Angel Witch - Angel Witch (Essential)
Def Leppard - On Through The Night (Polygram)
Diamond Head - Lightning To The Nations (Castle)
Iron Maiden - Killers (EMI)
Raven - Rock Until You Drop (Castle)
Samson - Survivors (Sanctuary)
Savage - Loose'n Lethal (Neat)
Saxon - Wheels of Steel (EMI)
Tank - Filth Hounds of Hades (Repertoire)
Venom - Black Metal (Sanctuary)