History Main / NewWaveOfBritishHeavyMetal

** GlamMetal: Music/DefLeppard became its possible TropeMaker starting with ''Pyromania''.
** PowerMetal: A lot of bands (Saxon, IronMaiden, etc.) could be considered UrExamples of the genre.
** ProgressiveMetal: Again, some bands were early members of the genre, with IronMaiden being the most notable example.

By the end of the decade, the movement was in full swing with a diversity of styles. Most bands, like Music/IronMaiden, Saxon, and Angel Witch, combined heavy riffing with soaring, pseudo-operatic vocals, wailing guitar solos, and lyrics concerning fantasy, rebellion, and the Heavy Metal lifestyle. Others, such as Music/DefLeppard, gravitated towards a more mainstream sound informed by GlamRock. Others still, like Music/{{Venom}}, chose to emulate [=Motorhead=]'s aggressive style and turn it UpToEleven, paving the way for ThrashMetal, BlackMetal, and DeathMetal. What united these bands was a shared sense of fashion (mostly consisting of denim jeans, [[HellBentForLeather leather jackets]], studded metal belts and wrist bands, and band t-shirts/patches), a Punk-like aversion to the mainstream (DefLeppard being a major exception), and and enthusiasm toward the music and its attending subculture.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Ranged anywhere from a 4 (DefLeppard's [[GlamMetal Glam]] material, many bands' power ballads) to a low 9 (Music/{{Motorhead}} and Music/{{Venom}}'s heaviest output), with most bands being a 6 or a 7.

* Music/{{Motorhead}} (1975, TropeMaker alongside JudasPriest)

* TropeCodifier: Music/IronMaiden and Angel Witch for the genre's sound; Saxon and JudasPriest for the genre's look.

** 1981 - ''Music{{Killers}}''

** ''Music/TheNumberOfTheBeast'' (1982)

* Music/{{Saxon}} (1977, TropeCodifier for the movement alongside IronMaiden)

* TropeCodifier: IronMaiden and Angel Witch for the genre's sound; Saxon and JudasPriest for the genre's look.

* UrExample: ThinLizzy and Budgie were two of the first bands to play fast HeavyMetal, thus serving as templates for the movement. ThinLizzy, along with Wishbone Ash, also helped popularize the twin harmonized guitar sound popular with NWOBHM bands. There's also the Music/{{Queen}} song "Stone Cold Crazy" and the DeepPurple song "Highway Star," which served as the predecessors of SpeedMetal.

Music/JudasPriest, a band from Birmingham, the same city that produced Music/BlackSabbath and later Music/NapalmDeath, was that band. In 1978, after several high quality but Sabbath-derived albums, they released their album ''Stained Class''. The album was dissimilar to pretty much any metal album that came before it, possessing high-speed tempoes, air-tight double-bass drumming patterns, and a level of aggression not seen outside Music/PunkRock. A second band at around the same time, Music/{{Motorhead}}, combined an approach similar to that of Judas Priest and wed it to a brutal, distortion-heavy sound that was overtly punk-influenced on their albums ''Motörhead'' in 1977, and ''Bomber'' and ''Overkill'' in 1979. With the approaches of these bands in place, other bands began to copy them.

* EndOfAnEra: In a way, the movement served as the last time that the UnitedKingdom would serve as the main player in RockMusic and HeavyMetal, a position it held since the BritishInvasion. While the UK would later go on to host the main scenes of Oi![=/=]StreetPunk, D-Beat[=/=]Crust Punk, {{Grindcore}} (at least for a little while), and {{Britpop}}, it would never again be so central to Rock as a whole as it was in TheSixties/[[TheSeventies Seventies]].

Music/JudasPriest, a band from Birmingham, the same city that produced Music/BlackSabbath and later Music/NapalmDeath, was that band. In 1978, after several high quality but Sabbath-derived albums, they released their album ''Stained Class''. The album was dissimilar to pretty much any metal album that came before it, possessing high-speed tempi, air-tight double-bass drumming patterns, and a level of aggression not seen outside Music/PunkRock. A second band at around the same time, Music/{{Motorhead}}, combined an approach similar to that of Judas Priest and wed it to a brutal, distortion-heavy sound that was overtly punk-influenced on their albums ''Motörhead'' in 1977, and ''Bomber'' and ''Overkill'' in 1979. With the approaches of these bands in place, other bands began to copy them.

* Music/Witchfynde
* Music/Wrathchild

* Diamond Head (1977, originally hyped as one of the leaders of the movement, it never came to pass and the band dissolved. Eventually proved to be a major influence on Music/{{Metallica}}, who famously covered their songs "Am I Evil?" and "The Prince")

* Saxon (1977, TropeCodifier for the movement alongside IronMaiden)

* Angel Witch
* Atomkraft
* Avenger
* Bleak House
* Blitzkrieg
* Chateaux
* Cloven Hoof
* Demon
* Girlschool (one of the only all-female bands in the movement)
* Grim Reaper
* Hell
* Holocaust
* Pagan Altar (unique in that, along with Witchfinder General, they played DoomMetal rather than the more typical NWOBHM sound)
* Praying Mantis
* Raven

* Samson (notable for having a young Music/BruceDickinson as their frontman)
* Savage
* Tank
* Tokyo Blade
* Tygers of Pan-Tang
* Tysondog
* Witchfinder General (along with Pagan Altar, they were one of a handful of DoomMetal NWOBHM bands)
* Witchfynde
* Wrathchild

Backstory: By the mid 70's, the genre of HeavyMetal seemed dead in the water. Music/DeepPurple had dissolved due to internal tensions, Music/BlackSabbath was in tatters from heavy drug use, and the [[SturgeonsLaw genre had become bloated with many unoriginal and derivative acts]] that [[FollowTheLeader merely tried to repeat the success of the bigger bands of the genre]]. Also, a new genre, PunkRock, had appeared on the music scene. In addition to possessing metal's hardness and aggression, it was also faster and, unlike HeavyMetal, was critically well-respected. For metal, things looked grim indeed.

By the end of the decade, the movement was in full swing with a diversity of styles. Most bands, like Music/IronMaiden, Saxon, and Angel Witch, combined heavy riffing with soaring, pseudo-operatic vocals and wailing guitar solos and lyric concerning fantasy, rebellion, and the Heavy Metal lifestyle. Others, such as Music/DefLeppard, gravitated towards a more mainstream sound informed by GlamRock. Others still, like Music/{{Venom}}, chose to emulate [=Motorhead=]'s aggressive style and turn it UpToEleven, paving the way for ThrashMetal, BlackMetal, and DeathMetal. What united these bands was a shared sense of fashion (mostly consisting of denim jeans, [[HellBentForLeather leather jackets]], studded metal belts and wrist bands, and band t-shirts/patches), a Punk-like aversion to the mainstream (DefLeppard being a major exception), and and enthusiasm toward the music and its attending subculture.

* Music/JudasPriest (1969, UrExample and {{Trope Maker}} alongside {{Motorhead}})

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Ranged anywhere from a 4 (DefLeppard's [[GlamMetal Glam]] material, many bands' power ballads) to a low 9 ({{Motorhead}} and Music/{{Venom}}'s heaviest output), with most bands being a 6 or a 7.

* TropeMaker: JudasPriest and {{Motorhead}} are jointly this for the NWOBHM.

* CriticalDissonance: Like the 70's bands they succeded, the bands of the NWOBHM were hated by critics, but often managed to garner a large audience both at home and internationally.

** GlamMetal: DefLeppard became its possible TropeMaker starting with ''Pyromania''.

** SpeedMetal: JudasPriest (one of the genre's UrExamples), {{Motorhead}} (the genre's arguable TropeMaker), Music/{{Venom}}, and Raven were all part of the movement. The movement as a whole could arguably be considered the genre's TropeMaker and/or TropeCodifier.
** ThrashMetal: {{Motorhead}}, Music/{{Venom}}, and Diamond Head could all be considered UrExamples.
* LeadBassist: Lemmy Kilmister of {{Motorhead}}, Steve Harris of IronMaiden, and Cronos of Music/{{Venom}} were some of the movement's most notable examples of the trope, with Harris being types A and C, Cronos types B and C, and Lemmy types A, B, and C.
* MetalScream: Rob Halford of JudasPriest and BruceDickinson of IronMaiden are masters of the sudden, cathartic scream, and Lemmy Kilmister of {{Motorhead}} and Cronos of Music/{{Venom}} being the UrExamples of singer who consistently used harsh vocals as their primary singing technique.

Not to be confused with NewWave music, despite both movements taking influences from Punk.

* SpiritualSuccessor: PowerMetal and MelodicDeathMetal, both of which take elements from the genre (soaring riffs, harmonized lead guitar, epic atmosphere, etc.) and adapt them to more modern sounds and tastes.

* SpiritualSuccessor: PowerMetal and MelodicDeathMetal both take influences from the genre (soaring riffs, harmonized lead guitar, epic atmosphere, etc.) and apply them to more modern sounds and tastes.

* Diamond Head (1977, originally hyped as one of the leaders of the movement, it never came to pass and the band dissolved. Eventually proved to be a major influence on Music/{{Metallica}}, who famously covered their songs "Am I Evil" and "The Prince")

** SpeedMetal: JudasPriest (one of the genre's UrExamples), {{Motorhead}} (the genre's arguable TropeMaker), Music/{{Venom}}, and Raven were all part of the movement. The movement itself could arguably be considered the genre's TropeMaker and/or TropeCodifier.

* LeadBassist: Lemmy Kilmister of {{Motorhead}}, Steve Harris of IronMaiden, and Cronos of Music/{{Venom}} were some of the movement's most notable examples of the trope, with Harris being types A and C, Cronos being types B and C, and Lemmy being types A, B, and C.

* CriticalDissonance: Like the 70's bands they succeded, the bands of the NWOBHM were hated by critics but many managed to garner a large audience both at home and internationally.

* TropeCodifier: IronMaiden and Angel Witch for the genre's sound, Saxon and JudasPriest for the genre's look.

* UrExample: ThinLizzy and Budgie were two of the first bands to play fast HeavyMetal, thus serving as templates for the movement. ThinLizzy, along with WishboneAsh, also helped popularize the twin harmonized guitar sound popular with NWOBHM bands. There's also the Music/{{Queen}} song "Stone Cold Crazy" and the DeepPurple song "Highway Star," which served as the predecessors of SpeedMetal.

* EndOfAnEra: In a way, the movement served as the last time that the UnitedKingdom would serve as the main player in RockMusic and HeavyMetal, a position it held since the BritishInvasion. While the UK would later go on to host the main scenes of Oi![=/=]StreetPunk, D-Beat[=/=]Crust Punk, and {{Grindcore}} (at least for a little while), it would never again be so central to Rock as a whole.

* EndOfAnEra: In a way, the movement served as the last time that the UnitedKingdom would serve as the main player in RockMusic and HeavyMetal, a position it held since the BritishInvasion. While the UK would later go on to host the main scenes of StreetPunk[=/=]{{Oi}}, D-Beat[=/=]Crust Punk, and {{Grindcore}} (at least for a little while), it would never again be so central to Rock as a whole.

* EndOfAnEra: In a way, the movement served as the last time that the UnitedKingdom would serve as the main player in RockMusic and HeavyMetal, a position it held since the BritishInvasion. While the UK would later go on to host the main scenes of StreetPunk[=/=]{{Oi!}}, D-Beat/CrustPunk, and {{Grindcore}} (at least for a little while), it would never again be so central to Rock as a whole.