Search - Various Artists :: New Wave Of British Heavy Metal [2-CD SET]

A nice retrospective...

05/25/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Some real gems in this collection and some real duds. The fury of Venom is impossible to deny, and the bonus Witchfinder General track is choice. It also has some nice stuff from Maiden and Leppard before they were selling millions. However, Fist and Black Axe...? Talk about turds! Most of the collection is really tasty for you metal fanatics. Lars may have gone a bit overboard on this one, but then again, why do we care what he thinks anymore?..."

Raw!

jason babin | Houston, Texas United States | 08/01/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Does it come as any surprise that Lars Ulrich - the drummer for the baddest metal band of all-time - has compiled the ultimate metal album? By his own admission in the liner, these bands are the ones that influenced him the most (minus Mythra, who for whatever reason screwed up a promising career -- anyone remember Death & Destiny? I sure as hell do!) I had never heard of most of these bands until I did an internet-engine search for "NWOBHM" and this CD is what popped up. Thank God it did! I have since ordered CD's from almost every band on this CD and have not been disappointed! From Vardis to Holocaust, from Dragster to Girlschool, from Maiden to Diamond Head, this CD friggin' rocks! Now I know who influenced the best, and I can see why!"

A matter of perspective

Paul Lawrence | Australia | 02/10/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"OK I'm not going to go into a track by track analysis here - firstly because it's 30 tracks long - and mainly because that's not the point here. As my title says it's a matter of perspective. And really, it's the listeners perspective that will determine their enjoyment level of this double CD. Everyone knows the NWOBHM story regarding British hard rock/metal having a heyday from, say, 1979 through to 1983. And the influence it had on the genre. Otherwise you wouldn't be considering putting this album in your shopping cart. So let me just make what I hope are a couple of helpful points to consider before clicking the 'add to cart' button.



1) If your looking for a totally barnstorming double CD this ain't it. This is a collection of tunes by a range of NWOBHM bands but they are a bit hit and miss. Besides with tracks by bands as varied as Girlschool, Iron Maiden, Jaguar, Tygers of Pan Tang, Samson, Diamond Head and Venom there are always going to be contributions that aren't to each listeners taste.



2) This album wa a labour of love inspired by Lars Ulrich who has always been happy to admit his musical influences. Aided by Geoff Barton who was then the editor of Kerrang magazine and a few other keen peole who helped make this project happen. And if you keep this in mind while listening and while reading the liner notes it will improve your enjoyment of the project.



3) One thing to avoid with this release is that you can't fall into the trap of whining about this or that band not being included here. My gut instinct is that this was meant to be a celebration of a musical movement, not a pedantic historical document. Sure some of the tracks suck, but the NWOBHM was a movement of bands - not something necessarily based on huge hit singles.



My honest advice is to pick this up when your feeling like something different, a little fun and listen to it when your in a receptive mood for what it is, rather than what it isn't. Above all enjoy."