You know that a certain kind of music has come full circle when the word "new" is used to describe it; but what about when the musical genre in question already had the word "new" in it last time around? No, we're not talking about a "New New Wave" movement, but close; this question pertains to Earache's Heavy Metal Killers compilation, which profiles ten young bands from across Europe and the Americas that are busy reviving the sonic aesthetic and blue-collar attitude of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, nearly 30 years after its 1979/1980 apogee. Problem is, much like the original New York punk rock scene of the mid-'70s, whose key bands ranged in style from the
Ramones, to
Television, to
Talking Heads to
Blondie, the N.W.O.B.H.M. was one of those rare musical movements connected more by a specific mindset and shared experience than a clearly definable sound template. So although it was responsible for spawning many of the most popular subsequent heavy metal subgenres -- from power metal (
Iron Maiden), to black metal (
Venom), to thrash (Raven via
Motörhead), and even glam metal, to a certain degree (
Def Leppard) -- the act of replicating the N.O.W.B.H.M.'s feeling is far more challenging than initially meets the ear. Having said all that, Heavy Metal Killers boasts several participants who come damn close to succeeding in this seemingly impossible task: beginning with album bookends, "Behold the Hand of Glory," by Dutch
Iron Maiden disciples Powervice, and "Witches Sabbath," from Sweden's occult-inspired
In Solitude, as well as the convincingly raw "Steel Maker," by Mexico's
Voltax, who narrowly avoid crossing over into thrash. Also deserving of kudos are those falsetto-happy Swedes in Portrait, whose stupendous contribution, "A Thousand Nightmares," actually worships Denmark's
Mercyful Fate, instead of anything N.W.O.B.H.M., but reminds one how damn special and unique
King Diamond and crew were. Beyond these tracks, though, things get a little trickier. On the positive side, there are bands like R.A.M and
Enforcer (more Swedes!) who deliver highly accomplished examples of vintage speed metal, but along with Britain's own Crowning Glory and Ireland's power metal-leaning
Celtic Legacy (whose members may actually be old enough to have been there the first time around) don't really capture that elusive N.W.O.B.H.M. spirit. And on the negative side, there are a few occasions when a band's bid for willful simplicity becomes confused with a "so bad it's good" philosophy -- as though they think those second- and third-tier N.W.O.B.H.M. groups of yore (e.g.
Avenger,
Chateaux,
Split Beaver, etc.) were creating under-produced, under-rehearsed, and under-whelming music on purpose. Needless to say, this minor, but crucial misunderstanding immediately dispels the "magic" ingredient of spontaneity that helped those original also-rans hang onto a sliver of history, and makes particularly poor disciples of Canada's
Cauldron (no thanks to their singer), and British comedians Hospital of Death, who just seem to be making a mockery of the whole gambit. So to put it mathematically: Heavy Metal Killers may only score a 3-out-of-10 where bona fide N.W.O.B.H.M. purity is concerned, but it shoots an 8-out-of-10 when it comes to compiling promising new heavy metal talent with an appreciation for past history, so the listener ultimately wins out in the end. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia