Heavy Metal 2000 Internet Archive

[Cristy Borovetz]

Thenew wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started 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 new heavy metal bands in the mid to late 1970s, during the period of punk rock's decline and the dominance of new wave music.

Although encompassing diverse styles inherited from rock music, the music of the NWOBHM is best remembered for drawing on the heavy metal of the 1970s and infusing it with the intensity of punk rock to produce fast and aggressive songs. The DIY attitude of the new metal bands led to the spread of raw-sounding, self-produced recordings and a proliferation of independent record labels. Song lyrics were usually about escapist themes, such as mythology, fantasy, horror and the rock 'n' roll lifestyle.

By some estimates, the movement spawned as many as a thousand heavy metal bands, but only a few survived the advent of MTV and the rise of the more commercial glam metal in the second half of the 1980s. Among them, Iron Maiden and Def Leppard became superstars, while Motrhead and Saxon also had considerable success. Other groups, such as Diamond Head, Venom and Raven, while reaching limited chart success, never achieved popularity of the above-mentioned bands, but were a major influence on the successful extreme metal subgenres of the mid/late 1980s and 1990s. Many bands from the NWOBHM reunited in the 2000s and remained active through live performances and new studio albums.

In the second half of the 1970s, the United Kingdom was in a state of social unrest and widespread poverty[1] as a result of the ineffective social politics of both Conservative and Labour Party governments during a three-year period of economic recession.[2] As a consequence of deindustrialisation, the unemployment rate was exceptionally high, especially among working class youth.[3] It continued to rise in the early 1980s, peaking in February 1983.[4] The discontent of so many people caused social unrest with frequent strikes, and culminated in a series of riots, including one in Brixton and another in Toxteth.[5] During this period, the mass of young people, deprived of the prospect of even relatively low-skill jobs that were available to the previous generations, searched for different ways to earn money in the music and entertainment businesses.[6] The explosion of new bands and new musical styles coming from the UK in the late 1970s was a result of their efforts to make a living in the economic depression that hit the country before and during the governments of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.[6]

The crisis of British heavy rock giants left space for the rise of other rock bands in the mid-1970s,[21] including Queen,[22] Hawkwind,[23] Budgie,[24] Bad Company,[25] Status Quo[26] and Nazareth,[27] all of which had multiple chart entries in the UK and had conducted successful international tours.[28] The British chart results of the period show that there was still a vast audience for heavy metal in the country, and upcoming bands UFO[29] and Judas Priest,[30] also had tangible success and media coverage in the late 1970s.[31] Foreign hard rock acts, such as Blue yster Cult and Kiss from the US,[32][33] Rush from Canada,[34] Scorpions from West Germany,[35] Thin Lizzy from Ireland ,[36] and especially AC/DC from Australia,[37] climbed the British charts in the same period.[28]

Motrhead were founded in 1975 by already experienced musicians.[39] Their leader Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister was a former member of the space rock band Hawkwind,[40] Larry Wallis had played with Pink Fairies,[41] and Eddie Clarke had been a member of Curtis Knight's Zeus.[42] Their previous experience is one element which divides critics and fans over whether the band belongs to the new wave of British heavy metal.[43] Some believe that the band should be considered an inspiration for the movement, but not part of it, because they had signed recording contracts, toured the country, and had chart success before any NWOBHM band had stepped out of their local club scene.[43][44] Motrhead were also the only metal band of the period recording songs with veteran BBC radio DJ John Peel for his Peel Sessions programme[45] and the first to reach No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart with the live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith in June 1981.[44] Lemmy himself said, "the NWOBHM ... didn't do us much good", because Motrhead "came along a bit too early for it".[46]

Other critics view Motrhead as the first significant exponent of the movement[47] and the first band to fully implement a crossover between punk rock and heavy metal.[48] Their fast music, the renunciation of technical virtuosity in favour of sheer loudness, and their uncompromising attitude were welcomed equally by punks and heavy metal fans.[48] Motrhead were supported by many NWOBHM bands on tour,[49] and they also shared the stage with Lemmy's friends' punk band The Damned.[50] Motrhead's musical style became very popular during the NWOBHM, making them a fundamental reference for the nascent movement and for musicians of various metal subgenres in the following decades.[51]

The NWOBHM involved both musicians and fans who were largely young, male and white and shared class origin, ethics, and aesthetic values.[52] American sociologist Deena Weinstein, in her book Heavy Metal: The Music and Its Culture, describes the rise and growth of the movement as the achievement of maturity for heavy metal, after its birth in the early 1970s and before branching out into various subgenres in the following years.[53] British heavy metal fans, commonly known as muthas,[54] metalheads,[55] or headbangers for the violent, rhythmic shaking of their heads in time to the music,[56] dismissed the simplistic image of rebellious youth inherited from the counterculture of the 1960s[57] and the psychedelic attachments characteristic of heavy rock in the 1970s,[58] updating the shared principles and codes of the heavy metal subculture[59] and definitely separating it from mainstream society.[60]

Towards the end of the 1970s, British metalheads coalesced into a closed community of peers that exalted power and celebrated masculinity.[61] According to Deena Weinstein's analysis, their male camaraderie and the general absence of women in their ranks did not turn into machismo and misogyny.[62] In the same article, she wrote that British heavy metal: "is not racist, despite its uniformly white performers, and its lyrics are devoid of racial references."[62] Another characteristic of the subculture was its latent homophobia, less violent, but not dissimilar to British skinheads' disposition;[63] in his book Running with the Devil: Power, Gender and Madness in Heavy Metal Music, Robert Walser calls it a "collective affirmation of heterosexuality",[64] and in a journal British sociologist John Clarke regards it as "a reaction against the erosion of traditionally available stereotypes of masculinity".[65]

Headbangers showed little interest in political and social problems, finding in each other's company, in the consumption of beer and in the music, the means to escape their bleak reality;[66] for this reason they were often accused of nihilism[67] or escapism.[68] In contrast with punks, they loved musicianship and made idols of virtuoso guitarists and vocalists,[69] viewing the live show as the full realisation of their status.[70] The fans were very loyal to the music, to each other and to the bands with whom they shared origins and from whom they required coherence with their values, authenticity and continuous accessibility.[71] To depart from this strict code meant being marked as a "sell out" or "poseur" and being somewhat excluded from the community.[72] The lyrics of the song "Denim and Leather" by Saxon reflect precisely the condition of British metalheads in those years of great enthusiasm.[73] Access to this male-dominated world for female musicians and fans was not easy, and only women who adapted to their male counterparts' standards and codes were accepted,[74] as attested by Girlschool[75] and Rock Goddess,[76] the only notable all-female heavy metal bands of that era.[77]

The music, philosophy and lifestyle of heavy metal bands and fans were often panned by both left-wing critics and conservative public opinion,[78] described as senseless, ridiculous to the limit of self-parody,[79] and even dangerous for the young generation.[80] The 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap addressed many idiosyncrasies of British metal bands, showing comic sides of that world which external observers would judge absurd.[81] Instead metal musicians regarded the movie's content as much too real.[82]

The dress code of the British headbangers reflected the newly found cohesion of the movement and recalled the look of 1960s rockers and American bikers.[83] The common elements were long hair and jeans, black or white T-shirts with band logos and cover art and leather jackets or denim vests adorned with patches.[56] Following the example of Judas Priest, elements of S&M fashion entered the metal wardrobe of the 1980s and it became typical to show off metallic studs and ornaments, or for metal musicians to wear spandex or leather trousers.[84] Elements of militaria, such as bullet belts and insignia, were also introduced at this time.[85] This style of dress quickly became the uniform of metalheads worldwide.[86]

Most bands of the NWOBHM had the same look as their fans[83] and produced rock shows without special visual effects.[87] A notable exception was Iron Maiden, which created the grisly character Eddie the Head as a stage prop to enrich their performances very early in their career.[88] Other exceptions were Demon,[89] Cloven Hoof[90] and Samson,[91] which used various props, costumes and tricks in their shows, while Pagan Altar[92] and Venom became well known for their elaborate scenography inspired by shock rock and Satanism.[93]

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