7 inches of bliss...yeah, that's what I said.

The NWOBHM movement marked a significant change in the way every rock fan on the planet saw this festering beast known as heavy metal. You had bands like Sabbath, Priest, Purple/Rainbow, Armageddon, and even a fledgling Van Halen. All of which made for a reasonable argument as to what heavy metal was. Then came this merciless limey monster affectionately called the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. True metal grit mixed with the "fuck the world" mentality of punk...THIS WAS HEAVY METAL. It instantly made everything previously called "metal" seem unimportant. These bands mattered.

Ok, enough with the history lesson...you've all done your homework. The following 7"s are some of my favorite from the era and still get major play on my turntable.


Up first is Blitzkrieg's immortal Buried Alive 7". This 1981 mini-masterpiece was released on the Neat label and made a huge impact on some metalliband in California. Said band recorded a version of the b-side simply named "Blitzkrieg". Spinning this little piece of plastic is like throwing a grenade into a crowd of posers and watching the shrapnel blow through brains left and right. Blitzkrieg had the heaviest riffs of all the NWOBHM bands.


Next I have my most played NWOBHM single, Jaguar's Axe Crazy/War Machine. Nothing...and I mean NOTHING brings the mosh out of me more than the song "Axe Crazy". Upon hearing the first explosion of double bass drums, I wanna suplex little old ladies into church pews and backflip through stained-glass windows. The b-side, "War Machine", always reminded me of Maiden's "Remember Tomorrow"...and I mean that in the best possible way. This record sums up the whole movement for me, metal in its purest form.


Now we're going to rewind the dial a bit. Mythra's Death and Destiny was the first non-Maiden NWOBHM 7" I was able to track down. Released in 1979, it predates a lot of the more famous bands from the scene by a year or so. Mythra also sports slightly better production and more intricate arrangements. The title track chugs along with a fiery tube amp riff a la AC/DC...with a few twists in there to keep the queen's panties all tied up. The major stand-out to me is song "Killer". Lots of powerful chords and dual guitar harmonies to make you kick disco balls at guidos' heads. Wait...it's not 1979...but this record will make you wish it was! Hail and kill!

Blitzkrieg - HERE

Jaguar - HERE

Mythra - HERE