The Hitchhiker's Guide To The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal
by MW19704U

This list shows the most important releases of the NWOBHM from 1980 - 1986.

Some of you may miss bands like Judas Priest, UFO, Black Sabbath or Motörhead, but these acts have already been ative long before the NWOBHM spread all over the world. Obviously the had a great impact on the NWOBHM.

The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term in a May 1979 issue of the British music newspaper Sounds to describe the emergence of new heavy metal bands in the late 1970s, during the period of punk rock's decline and the dominance of new wave music.

Although encompassing diverse mainstream and underground styles, the music of the NWOBHM is best remembered for drawing on the heavy metal of the 1970s and infusing it with the intensity of punk rock to produce fast and aggressive songs. The DIY attitude of the new metal bands led to the spread of raw-sounding, self-produced recordings and a proliferation of independent record labels. Song lyrics were usually about escapist themes such as mythology, fantasy, horror and the rock lifestyle.
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[First added to this chart: 10/18/2017]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,860
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 10/18/2017]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
370
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 10/18/2017]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
166
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 10/18/2017]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
50
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
5. (4) Down 1
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 10/18/2017]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
42
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
6. (7) Up 1
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 10/19/2017]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,687
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 10/18/2017]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
77
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 10/18/2017]
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
75
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 10/19/2017]
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,096
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 10/19/2017]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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The Hitchhiker's Guide To The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal composition

Decade Albums %


1930s 0 0%
1940s 0 0%
1950s 0 0%
1960s 0 0%
1970s 1 1%
1980s 99 99%
1990s 0 0%
2000s 0 0%
2010s 0 0%
2020s 0 0%
Country Albums %


United Kingdom 99 99%
Jersey 1 1%

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal chart changes

Biggest climbers
Climber Up 18 from 36th to 18thSheer Greed
by Girl
Climber Up 14 from 95th to 81stStrong Arm Of The Law
by Saxon
Climber Up 8 from 20th to 12thStand Up And Fight
by Quartz
Biggest fallers
Faller Down 8 from 1st to 9thThe Number Of The Beast
by Iron Maiden
Faller Down 4 from 11th to 15thBlack Metal
by Venom
Faller Down 3 from 33rd to 36thWiped Out
by Raven (UK)
New entries
New entry Kingdom Of Madness
by Magnum (UK)
New entry End Of The World
by Gaskin
Leavers
Leaver Piece Of Mind
by Iron Maiden
TitleSourceTypePublishedCountry
NWOBHM (1979-1984) RepoCustom chart2023
Top 81 Music Albums of the 1980s UofTBlues1980s decade chart2022
1982: Metal RepoCustom chart2024
genre: Heavy Metal zags7000Custom chart2019
1983: Metal RepoCustom chart2024
Favorite 1980s Metal Albums NoisyBeastCustom chart2017
Favorite 1980s Metal Albums II NoisyBeastCustom chart2017
Top 90 Music Albums of 1981vruslov1981 year chart2021
Top 100 Music Albums of 1983 Vaggelis1983 year chart2014
Top 100 Music Albums of 1980 Vaggelis1980 year chart2014

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MW19704U has shared 3 more custom charts with the community. Browse them all here.
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The Hitchhiker's Guide To The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal ratings

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89/100 (from 5 votes)
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03/02/2024 22:45 mrmcrook   76992/100
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90/100
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01/02/2024 19:14 svk4ever   1483/100
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03/22/2020 01:26 Repo   563100/100
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05/12/2019 18:33 Graeme2   21394/100
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90/100
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01/14/2018 08:19 vruslov   58289/100
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The Hitchhiker's Guide To The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal comments

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From 03/02/2024 22:48 | #302347
Lists like these are great discovery grounds. Must say, I was surprised to see Leppard's 'On Through the Night' ranked above 'High n Dry'. All a matter of personal taste though.
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