Here are 10 New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands that should have been bigger, but weren’t.
The NWOBHM changed everything. It gave us Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Saxon, all of whom went on to have very, very different careers. It laid the groundwork for thrash, speed, and power metal and it produced an overwhelming wave of bands, many of whom had the talent, sound, and fire to go the distance… but didn’t.
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Some were too early, some too raw and some just caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whether it was bad timing, poor label support, or just being a little too different, these bands never broke through to the level they should have.
But, they still mattered. Their records still hold up. Their influence still lingers. And in some cases, they arguably shaped the future of heavy music just as much, or in some cases, even more than the bands who actually got famous.
This is a look at some of NWOBHM’s greatest almost-made-its… the bands that had everything but the spotlight.
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Gallery Credit: Sydney Taylor
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