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Thursday, April 21, 2011

A Brief Guide To NWOBHM (With Recommendations)

Every person into Heavy Metal knows what New Wave Of British Heavy Metal was. Even the less-informed know about it because of the movement's association with Iron Maiden. Needless to say, every person begins his/her journey to the ocean of bands and genres related to Metal with Iron Maiden.

NWOBHM is often associated with Diamond Head, Venom, Grim Reaper, Angel Witch, Raven, Motorhead, Tank and Saxon, apart from Iron Maiden, but this movement was as big as Swedish Death Metal scene in the 90s, and a lot of bands died unnoticed and are still probably unknown. I will now list some bands that you need to listen to, with a short description of their sound.

1. Tytan - My personal favourite from this movement. The band chose a less raw and aggressive sound, settling for a 70s Judas Priest-like sound, with a more Hard Rock-oriented sound than Punk-oriented, which most bands chose.
Album : Rough Justice

2. Wolf - Not to be confused with the Swedish heavy metal band with the same name. Wolf was formerly known as Black Axe and released a single called "Highway Rider". It was rough, it was raw and totally metal. Wolf's album Edge Of The World is just a follow-up, with more songs. Awesome band.
Album : Edge Of The World

3. Atomkraft - One of the earliest bands to have a much more aggressive sound. Their sound can be described as Speed/Thrash Metal, with songs like "Demolition" containing fast riffs and thrashy drumming.
Album : Anthology

4. Blind Fury - Closely Related to Satan and Angel Witch, the band was weaker compared to both the bands in terms of sound, but that doesn't change the face that they made really good Heavy Metal. Their songs are a standard fare, nothing unique, but still worth checking out.
Album : Out Of Reach

5. Tysondog - Speedy riffs akin to Raven and high register vocals. Though the band hardly qualifies as Speed Metal, it is still close to that. The drumming is continuous and not very notable, but still adds to the "fast" sound the band aims for.
Album : Beware of the Dog

I cannot think of more at the moment, but will keep updating this list.

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