New wave of British heavy metal

The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that began in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Editor Alan Lewis coined the term for an article by Geoff Barton in a May 1979 issue of the British music newspaper Sounds to describe the emergence of heavy metal bands in the mid-to-late 1970s, as punk rock declined amid the dominance of new wave music. Quotes about the NWOBHM Heavy metal slammed into the 1980s at full force, with clean lines and no hesitation. While hard-rock forebears like Aerosmith and Kiss struggled during the tail of the 1970s against disco headwinds and the mockery of three-chord punk, fledgling heavy-metal bands cut their teeth in the shadows and prepared for a big takeover. Then, boom: 1980 exploded with debuts from Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Diamond Head and Angel Witch — pillars of the so-called New Wave of British Heavy Metal, or NWOBHM — as well as career-high shock treatments by elders Judas Priest, Saxon and Motörhead. Ian Christie of Tidal (magazine) External links Category:Heavy metal music