In the late seventies
and early eighties a new sound emerged from Great Britain, which built
tremendously upon the foundations established by Black Sabbath and borrowed
heavily from the energy and enthusiasm of punk rock. Unlike their forefathers
in Sabbath these bands largely steered away from lyrical content about despair,
depression, doom and the devil, and instead wrote songs about fantasy,
mythology or history. They were also different from punk rock due to a focus on musicianship, often with long epic songs, full of operatic vocals and searing guitar solos. This sound gained momentum within the British Isles and then hit the shores of the United States like a hurricane, earning the movement the name of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). Spearheading this invasion were bands such as Raven, Samson, Angel Witch, Girlschool, Saxon,Venom, Rainbow and most significantly Def Leppard and Iron Maiden.
As the popularity grew, and the sound expanded to dozens of other
countries and hundreds of other bands, the moniker of NWOBHM gave way to the
simpler, but still accurate description of power metal, spawning such noteworthy
acts as Dio, Sabaton, Hammerfall, Accept, Helloween, Kamelot, Armored Saint,
and Manowar.
