Looking back, it’s hard to view 1984 as anything other than a banner year for heavy metal. The sheer amount of world-beating releases across a wide range of styles is almost unmatched by any year to follow. So then, with metal exploding worldwide on an previously-unmatched level, with this article we’re taking a look at what happened after – in the wake of the NWOBHM.
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) is one of metal’s most iconic and influential scenes with bands like Iron Maiden and Venom forever shaping the future of heavy metal. With the recent revival of interest in the traditional branch of heavy metal over the last 10 years, there’s been more than a fair share of bands taking heavy influence from their NWOBHM heroes and many of them fall flat. It’s tough to match the quality and spirit from that time, but every once in a while a band gets it right – Coltre are one such band.
From England’s Midlands we have some rustic and robe covered power metal. Tied to England’s mythology and heritage, Dark Forest do not hold back on these themes. Similar to how Solstice and Forefather have their ties to ancient folklore of England, Dark Forest deliver it in a power metal style. They bring us across the stream to the Otherworld and let us roam around the wonders that is ancient Albion with Oak, Ash & Thorn.
Named after the iconic Slayer song, Great Britain’s Aggressive Perfector channel the same carnal energy found on Slayer’s early material. Aggressive Perfector originally formed back in 2014 and put out an aptly titled demo called Satan’s Heavy Metal just a couple of years later. Now the stage is finally set for their debut album – Havoc at the Midnight Hour.
After nearly four years of virtual silence, epic heavy metal band Terminus are ready to unleash their second album, A Single Point of Light, via Cruz Del Sur Records. Despite just one album to their name prior to this, the sheer quality of Terminus’s songwriting makes them stand out as one of the genre’s finest newcomers.
The final installment of a 4 piece series on Epic Heavy Metal. This segment examines the broader European scene beyond Italy and Greece. This segment also features an interview with Nuno of Ravensire.
When we think of the past, we tend to focus on the brighter bits while ignoring the bad parts that characterized it. This feels truer than ever in a genre like metal, where the bulk of classic releases for all the main genres were released in the 80s/90s. For this reason, there is a desire for many bands to emulate the sounds of the past and to relive the glory days.
Part 1 of a 4 piece series on Epic Heavy Metal. This segment defines the sound and explores the beginnings of the genre. This part also features an interview with Randy “Thrasher” Foxe of Manilla Road.
The history of Satan is a long and complicated one. Originally formed in 1979, they were musically among the cutting edge of the NWOBHM, but were inundated with quite a few lineup changes, most notably as far as their vocalists go. They ended up changing their name several times over the 80’s – first as Satan, then as the band who did today’s album (Blind Fury), back to Satan for an EP and an album, and then to Pariah for a couple more thrash albums at the end of the 80’s.
Pagan Altar’s debut has an odd history all its own. It was originally recorded in 1982 and circulated around the underground as demo tapes for the better part of the 80’s and 90’s, only finally seeing the light of day officially as Volume 1 in 1998, along several other reissues in the years since.