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Great introduction to some lesser known NWOBHM bands

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 10/25/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In the early 1980's, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement completely redefined and reenergized heavy metal, and gave rise to the genre's biggest acts, including Iron Maiden, Saxon, and (despite the band's recent comments to the contrary) Def Leppard. These bands can rightly be considered top tier NWOBHM acts. Lesser known but still fairly successful bands like Diamond Head, Tygers of Pan Tang, and Angel Witch would probably fall in a second tier, and the dozens of talented but forgotten bands from the NWOBHM movement would be in a third tier.



That's where the 2-disc set The Flame Burns On: The Best of Neat Records comes in. This excellent compilation has a few acts that could be considered tier 2 (Raven and Venom for example), but by and large it is full of lesser known bands like Jaguar, White Spirit, Dedringer, Sabre, Warrior, Crucifixion, Axis, and the list goes on. When I hear a collection like this I'm amazed at the sheer volume of talented bands coming out of one place at one time. I'm also amazed that so many of these bands never made it big. They burned bright but they burned fast.



Neat Records (and Castle, which is distributing them) have done NWOBHM fans a real favor by re-releasing this classic material. The fact that the sound quality has been enhanced is an added bonus. The Flame Burns On is a fantastic collection of NWOBHM material, and is a great way to discover some of the great bands of that era that you might not otherwise have heard."