Top 10 New Wave British Heavy Metal Bands (2023)

FAQs

What bands were part of the new wave of British heavy metal? ›

Such NWOBHM bands included Venom, Diamond Head, Saxon, Samson, Raven, Tygers of Pan Tang, Jaguar, White Spirit, Praying Mantis, Tank, Pagan Altar, Vardis, Angel Witch, Witchfynde, Witchfinder General, Blitzkrieg, Demon, Holocaust, Sweet Savage, and Grim Reaper.

The UK was a cradle of the first wave of heavy metal, which was born at the end of the 1960s and flowered in the early 1970s. Of the many British bands that came to prominence during that period, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple achieved worldwide success and critical acclaim.

Known as The Big Four, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer continue to cast an unavoidable shadow over contemporary metal.

Led by The Beatles, other British bands and artists such as the Rolling Stones, Donovan, the Dave Clark Five, the Kinks, the Yardbirds, the Searchers, the Animals and many more completely and dramatically affected the course of rock & roll in America.

Black Sabbath, Kiss, AC/DC, Van Halen and others still dominate the touring industry. Their 1970s work left a huge impression, and classic rock radio has introduced their music to people too young to hear it the first time around.

The Beatles

Their story and their music is legendary, and you just can't look past them as the greatest British rock band of all time.

Jeanne Prueher is known as Metal Mom.

Who are the big 5 in metal? ›

In alphabetical order, Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica and Slayer — who all played at Yankee Stadium in a thorough and memorable seven-hour concert on Wednesday night — were the most popular bands of mid-1980s thrash-metal. (Some would prefer a Big Five, and include Testament or Exodus.)

Mid-1960s British bands such as Cream, the Yardbirds, and the Jeff Beck Group, along with Jimi Hendrix, are generally credited with developing the heavier drums, bass, and distorted guitar sounds that differentiate heavy metal from other blues-based rock.

Key acts included British Invasion bands like The Who and The Kinks, as well as psychedelic era performers like Cream, Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Jeff Beck Group. Adopting a form of boogie rock, Status Quo became one of the UK's leading rock bands throughout the rest of the 1970s.

Manowar Concert – 139 dB

But this heavy metal group currently holds the title of world's loudest band. There is a catch, however. While they did achieve the highest dB level ever recorded by a musician or band, generating a SPL of 139 dB, they did it during a sound check; not during an actual performance.

The first heavy metal acts are considered to be Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, often referred to as the “unholy trinity”. Led Zeppelin released their self-titled debut in 1969, while Black Sabbath and Deep Purple put out influential records in 1970.

In 1972, The Guinness Book Of Records crowned Deep Purple the world's loudest band after 117 decibels were registered at London's Rainbow Theatre. Drummer Ian Paice said: “Rock'n'roll went to a different level. The volume leapt up incredibly.”

Who is the most successful British musician? ›

Most famous for his involvement with the Beatles, Paul McCartney is one of the world's most successful musicians today.

Dubbed the Queen of Heavy Metal, Doro Pesch became known for her time fronting Warlock, and her following solo career. She was one of the first women in heavy metal to be identified and celebrated for her voice and stage presence rather than her image.

Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra - Father of the Big Band, 1925-1937 Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic.

The Allen Eagle Escadrille is a high school marching band from Texas. It claims to be the world's largest marching band at over 800 members! Would you like to join a marching band one day?

In 1968, the sound that would become known as heavy metal began to coalesce. That January, San Francisco band Blue Cheer released a cover of Eddie Cochran's classic "Summertime Blues" as a part of their debut album, Vincebus Eruptum, and many consider it to be the first true heavy metal recording.

Many historians believe that Black Sabbath invented heavy metal music in the late 1960s. The band played loud, hard rock music based on blues music. Heavy metal music was mostly based on the sounds of the electric guitar.

EW can exclusively reveal that Morello, Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, Judas Priest lead singer Rob Halford, and Anthrax rhythm guitarist Scott Ian all pop up in the movie for one rockin' cameo.

Who are the big 8 thrash metals? ›

The genre was commercially successful during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, with the "Big Four" of thrash metal – Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax – being joined by Exodus, Overkill, Testament, and Sepultura, as well as the "Big Four" of German thrash metal: Kreator, Destruction, Sodom, and Tankard.

So, where did Heavy metal originate? It most likely originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but it's not possible to say with absolute certainty who the very first metal band actually was. This form of music is a rock genre that was primarily influenced by blues-rock and “psychedelic” rock.

Later into the Beatles' career, they became one of the heaviest bands to pre-date the metal genre. Though heavy metal and doom metal are both attributed to Black Sabbath, the Beatles wrote what could be considered the first proto-metal song with “Helter Skelter.” Those grooves don't lie.

Known as the fastest band in the world, Grammy-nominated extreme power metal band DragonForce is based in London, England. Their platinum-selling record, Through the Fire and Flames, brought them international acclaim and was featured as the most-challenging song on Guitar Hero III.

New wave musicians often played choppy rhythm guitars with fast tempos; keyboards, and stop-start song structures and melodies are common. Reynolds noted new-wave vocalists sound high-pitched, geeky, and suburban. As new wave originated in Britain, many of the first new wave artists were British.

In the front ranks, marching in formation behind the Beatles, were the Dave Clark Five, the Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, the Searchers, the Hollies, the Animals, the Kinks, the Yardbirds, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Freddie and the Dreamers, Petula Clark, Dusty Springfield, Peter and Gordon and Chad and Jeremy.

1 Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic and synth-pop band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex.

Is Depeche Mode a new wave band? ›

Depeche Mode, originally formed by the lineup of Gahan, Gore, Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, released their debut album Speak & Spell in 1981, bringing the band onto the British new wave scene.

The term "new wave" is largely associated with music critics, not the musicians themselves. It first appeared in music reviews of The Velvet Underground and New York Dolls in the early 1970s.

The first new wave song to chart in the US was “Cars” by Gary Numan in 1980. It popularized synthesizer dance music and also created the sub-genre of synth pop. As a result of its success, new wave began to be used to classify countless acts in the early 1980's, sprung on by the success of MTV and popular films.