ribbons69 wrote:

terrorizer wrote:

ribbons69 wrote:

terrorizer wrote:Neither Motorhead or Priest are NWOBHM

But Def Leppard were!

So were Diamond Head!

How about Mansfield's finest,Savage!

Wasn't Aragorn from Mansfield too?

terrorizer wrote:Neither Motorhead or Priest are NWOBHM

And Saxon are bloody boring haha! Aragorn on the other hand are great - anyone got their Anthology cd?

terrorizer wrote:Neither Motorhead or Priest are NWOBHM

Ok, we're agreed that Priest aren't NWOBHM, but please explain to me why Motorhead, after twenty three years of reading about them being "at the forefront of the NWOBHM" do they suddenly not qualify, especially when they meet all the required criteria:
1. Formed in late mid-late 70's.
2. British.
3. Heavy Metal.

Pretty damn self-explanatory if you ask me.

AXE CRAZY! by Jaguar

Bestial Bill wrote:And Saxon are bloody boring haha!

Quiet you! Go and listen to Strong Arm of the Law.

@ Darkweasel - it goes back to my point about whether NWOBHM means simply time period or style of music.

Motorhead clearly have a different, more speed/punky sound to the bands that were emerging at the turn of the 80s.

Why aren't Judas Priest NWOBHM, yet Motorhead are?

Yet in my head I'd still do you, so I'm confused.

I recommend.....


'Suzie Smiled… The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal


Publication date: June 2006
Publisher: Independent Music Press
Price: £12.99
ISBN: 0-9549704-7-0

Remember Diamond Head? ‘Course you do. Besides, they headlined a New Wave Of British Heavy Metal festival in London in November 2005. But what about Bitches Sin? Or Satan? Shiva? Soldier? Trespass? The NWOBHM catapulted Iron Maiden, Saxon and Def Leppard to global fame and fortune, but left behind were countless bands that should have made it but didn’t, and whose legacy is maybe a couple of singles and some clippings from Sounds. ‘Suzie Smiled… The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal’ is the story of those bands and highlights the highs and lows of not only forming a band in the early Eighties but also trying to keep it together and become heavy metal superstars.

With contributions from the above-named hopefuls, as well as the likes of Girlschool, Witchfynde, Saxon, Jaguar, Paul Di’Anno and Lemmy, and an introduction by Sean Harris, the original voice of Diamond Head, ‘Suzie Smiled… The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal’ is the first book to analyse the NWOBHM in any great depth. It describes in the bands’ own words what it was like to be writing and playing heavy metal in the post-punk era and sets the music in the bleak social context of the time, when getting a feature in the local paper was a real big thing, being played on BBC Radio 1’s The Friday Rock Show was the ultimate means of mass marketing (as well as the ultimate seal of approval), and bands like Metallica could play covers of NWOBHM bands’ songs live and pass them off as their own.

‘Suzie Smiled… The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal’ is the first book by John Tucker who, as a fanzine writer and photographer of the time (as well as a big fan of the music), was lucky enough to watch the NWOBHM unfold around him. It is not a nostalgia trip by an aging rocker but a personal tribute to the bands of the NWOBHM and to the timeless music they produced. It is published by Independent Music Press and is available in all good bookshops for £12.99'

NWOBHM was both a time and a sound, the classic era being 1979-82. Motorhead formed in 1975 and were too early. OWO yes, but not NWOBHM.

And Saxon, what's wrong with Saxon? "Where were you in '79 when the dam began to burst?"

Me? I was discovering The Police, metal came a few years later.

Saxon are fucking brilliant, they deserve just as much attention as Maiden or Priest but never get it. Listen to the Heavy Metal Thunder album, good lord. They re-recorded a load of their classics and turned them into big mother metal power beasts, Crusader is an unbelievable song. I also have the Crusader album which is humorous as it has a track called 'A Little Bit Of What You Fancy'. But don't let that put you off, Saxon are brilliant. Their new album The Inner Sanctum is an example of how they are still brilliant.

jonny_boy34 wrote:I also have the Crusader album which is humorous as it has a track called 'A Little Bit Of What You Fancy'. But don't let that put you off, Saxon are brilliant.

a little bit.... of what you fancy... always does ya goood!!

i fucking love saxon!!! the first 4 albums are complete classics, the 5th being almost classic!!! after that I couldn't really care to be honest, they got shit!!!

terrorizer wrote:NWOBHM was both a time and a sound, the classic era being 1979-82. Motorhead formed in 1975 and were too early. OWO yes, but not NWOBHM.

Ok fair enough, but why then do Saxon fall squarely into the NWOBHM category when they were formed in 1976 (ok, they were called Son of a Bitch at the time but 4/5ths of the line up was exactly the same) and their overall sound isn't too far removed from Motorhead themselves?
And also, surely, if Motorhead shouldn't be called NWOBHM because of when they formed, then should Metallica be called thrash metal? The classic era of thrash was '85-'89 but Kill 'Em All was released in 1983 and the band themselves formed in 1981.

At the end of the day, Motorhead to me have, are, and will always continue to be a NWOBHM band. From the moment I picked up my first Kerrang in 1984, Motorhead were labelled as such, and to me that will never change.
I used to have a couple of compilation albums predominantly featuring the best NWOBHM acts at the time and Motorhead always sat nicely alongside the likes of Waysted, Mama's Boys, Tygers of Pan Tang and Samson.
I know that Lemmy himself tries to pass off Motorhead as "just a rock and roll band" but if we were to believe every frontman's opinion on what category his music falls into then we should all be worshipping Bon Jovi and Europe as the leaders of heavy metal.

dark star - lady of mars. f'king awesome.

Darkweasel wrote:

terrorizer wrote:NWOBHM was both a time and a sound, the classic era being 1979-82. Motorhead formed in 1975 and were too early. OWO yes, but not NWOBHM.

Ok fair enough, but why then do Saxon fall squarely into the NWOBHM category when they were formed in 1976 (ok, they were called Son of a Bitch at the time but 4/5ths of the line up was exactly the same) and their overall sound isn't too far removed from Motorhead themselves?
And also, surely, if Motorhead shouldn't be called NWOBHM because of when they formed, then should Metallica be called thrash metal? The classic era of thrash was '85-'89 but Kill 'Em All was released in 1983 and the band themselves formed in 1981.

At the end of the day, Motorhead to me have, are, and will always continue to be a NWOBHM band. From the moment I picked up my first Kerrang in 1984, Motorhead were labelled as such, and to me that will never change.
I used to have a couple of compilation albums predominantly featuring the best NWOBHM acts at the time and Motorhead always sat nicely alongside the likes of Waysted, Mama's Boys, Tygers of Pan Tang and Samson.
I know that Lemmy himself tries to pass off Motorhead as "just a rock and roll band" but if we were to believe every frontman's opinion on what category his music falls into then we should all be worshipping Bon Jovi and Europe as the leaders of heavy metal.

Saxon released their debut in 1979, Motorhead 1977, so Saxon NWOBHM, Motorhead not NWOBHM. As for the classic era of thrash, I'd say it started with the release of Kill 'Em All, therefore Metallica are a thrash band. Waysted aren't NWOBHM at all, don't take a compilation thrown together by a money grabbing record company as your yardstick.

As for the classic era of thrash, I'd say it started with the release of Kill 'Em All, therefore Metallica are a thrash band. Waysted aren't NWOBHM at all, don't take a compilation thrown together by a money grabbing record company as your yardstick

Although 1983 is certainly the start of thrash, I wouldn't call it the start of the classic era. The only two major releases that year were Kill em All and Show No Mercy (which wasn't released until the December anyway). And unless I'm missing any, The only other two noteworthy releases would be the ones by Suicidal Tendencies and Exciter.
1984 had more significant releases so it would be reasonable to say that year was more of the begninning, but for me, the real start of the classic era of thrash was 1985. The list of classic albums released that year is just stupid.

So why aren't Waysted NWOBHM? They were British, sounded like Def Leppard, and formed in 1982, the year in which you state is still within the scope of classic era.

Bestial Bill wrote:Lesser known, but utterly brilliant NWOBHM:

Virtue - We Stand to Fight 7"
Chateaux - Young Blood 7", Chained and Desperate, Fire Power
Y Diawled - Noson Y Blaidd 7"
Ricochet - Midas Light 7" (get it here: http://www.midaslight.com/mp3s.html)
Bleak House - Rainbow Warrior 7"
Tellurian - Reborn 7"

There's a lot of great stuff from this period, but also a lot of shite that tends towards AOR.

Got to listen to the Ricochet. Great stuff!