Metal Reviews

From Webster:


NWOBHM absolutely comprises "a particular style, form, and content." Thus, it is a genre.

Many NWOBHM bands share a similar musical approach, but keep in mind that the term was coined by the press in the early 80's when loads of heavy metal bands started popping up in the UK.

NWOBHM simply means british heavy metal from a certain time (it always cracks me up when i see fx. a US band labeled as NWOBHM.) So although there are some stylistic similarities between most NWOBHM bands, i don't really consider it a genre (in the strictest sense of the word, anyway) either.

I don't really get how its not a genre. Bands like Maiden, Saxon, Diamond Head, Satan, Angel Witch, Cloven Hoof, Grim Reaper...etc....they were all bands that made up the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. They were characterized by the same elements. It was a genre then, and now, even though its over...its a highly recognizeable form of heavy metal. It may have morphed into THrash, Power, Traditional...whatever you want to call it, but the fact that when you're hearing a NWOBHM band, you instantly recognize it. There is no better indicator than that.

Yep, agreed.


HT, do you need my email for a yousendit file? I'm not sure how those work. If you could upload both albums, I would be grateful.

No need to fill in any of the fields except the file.

Holy_Terror (or any of you other NWOBHM salesmen), you ever hear anything by Tröjan? I just stumbled across them on metal archives and the cover at intrigued me.

but as the name suggest it is basically all metal from UK that came at about same time period in history, so what is the actual description of their sound/style? Describing a genre by location point in time is kind of silly and confusing and it doesn't suggest anything that they have in common other that they are from UK and are a new wave (which would now be a very old wave?)

Ok, i see your point, but take the band Gotham City....they're not British, they're Swedish, but they sound just like a NWOBHM band, and so to make things easy I call them a NWOBHM band, because their music has all the elements of those British bands....you could even say Riot was a NWOBHM band as well. The point is, NWOBHM is an easy way to describe rocking heavy metal that still had elements of classic rock in it. It was characterized by up beat riffing, dual guitar harmonies and swaggering rock vocals. So basically people use the term NWOBHM to desribe the oldest type of heavy metal. It precedes bands like Manowar and Warlord who are essentially traditional heavy metal which is basically heavier NWOBHM, and Thrash metal which is basically NWOBHM with the aggressivity of punk. So my point is, NWOBHM is a genre because British bands werent the only ones that were characterized as being NWOBHM bands.

so have there been any really good new or remastered albums in NWOBHM style in the last few years?

What exactly are the characteristics of NWOBHM? :oops: I'm kinda new to the genre.

Read Holy Terror's post above.
Iron Maiden was part of the NWOBHM. That should give you a clue.

Oops, missed that. :oops:

I actually think I heard some Diamond Head before, but that was a long, long time ago. I should try to check them out.

What I like most about that period are the twin guitar melodies. They can give me chills down my spine.

Although I wouldn't class Maiden as a fair representation of NWOBHM. They had a much lower 'rock factor' than other bands of the time.

Not in their first two albums.

Well still when you compare them to the likes of Saxon, Samson and Raven I'd say so.

Get Lightning to the Nations. That album belongs in every Metal fan's collection. It just fucking rocks, that's all that needs to be said.

Maybe but they still had that NWOBM sound on their albums, take running free for example.