What does NWOBHM stand for?
NWOBHM stands for New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. To make a long story short: though metal was established in the 70’s (though the term wasn’t popular then), its popularity was jumpstarted around 1979 and 1980, when a bunch of young British bands sprang out of nowhere with a fresh new sound. The most notable of these were Iron Maiden, Saxon, Angelwitch, Samson, and many others, some of whom went on to long careers and many others who never got past releasing the odd 7″ record. Generally the period is considered to be 1980 through about 1984 or so. On a personal note, the NWOBHM remains a fond memory for me since my interest in metal was sparked by those bands at that time.