Graeme Hutchinson (Holland/Hammer): We simply loved hard rock and wanted to emulate our heroes

Middlesbrough's natives Holland (a.k.a. Holland) lived very typical life of a NWOBHM band: they played energetic and enjoyable mixture of hard rock and heavy metal and gigged wherever they could and trusted their succes to Ebony Records. Of course, this label helped Grim Reaper to get a major deal and also released albums of Savage, Dealer, Blade Runner and Cobra, but  most of these bands saw very little (if any) support from Ebony. So it was all about how enthusiastic bands were and how long they wanted to continue playing and recording. Holland, who changed the name to Hammer (more about that below), managed to record two albums before calling it a day in 1985. In 2019 I contacted Graeme Hutchinson to talk about the glorious days of NWOBHM and other things. Some of the info here is a bit dated (especially about Black Rose's new album) but other than that it is still interesting for a NWOBHM fan. 

Triarchy: Punk and new wave were as much as, if not more than, prog and heavy rock was an influence on us

I'm sure you are familliar with Crayford's Triarchy. Their "Save the Khan" and "Metal Messiah" singles definitevely were more new wave than heavy metal, but anyway they gained attention of those fans who love rock music without boundaries and have an eclectic collection of records – from Rush to Iron Maiden to The Strangelers to whatever they like. The legacy of Triarchy is well documented by High Roller Records who released three compilations of the band. Last year Mike Wheeler, Triarchy's singer/bass player, put out another retrospective release, "The High Roller Tapes", via Bandcamp. Could I miss an opportunity to blow the dust off the Triarchy's history book? No way!  

Jeff Summers (ex-Weapon): "Fights, rows, drink, fun, music and parties were everyday occurrences"

Well, what can I say? Jeff Summers is just a top class musician and a real gentleman. This is my third interview with him and he has alway been very kind to me and provided full answers to my numerous questions (check out the interview about Wildfire, for example). This time I decided to try him out about the story of Weapon, on of the pioneers on NWOBHM, the band that along with Diamond Head, Blitzkrieg, Sweet Savage and some others influenced early Metallica. This interview was done almost 6 months ago, but due to infamous personal reasons I was unable to post it earlier. 

Spider: Under the banner of rock'n'roll

Spider were a hard working band from Liverpool who released a lot of singles, three LPs, played countless gigs and then disappeared. Probably they happened to be in a wrong place at a wrong time. They represented rock'n'roll-ish side of NWOBHM and I guess they weren't "metal" enough for an average fan of the time. Does it makes their music bad? Not at all! I contacted Spider's guitarist Dave "Snyffa" Bryce to cover the history of the band and to pay a tribute to Col Harkness who left us erlier this year. 

Frank Darch (ex-More): We were a band

Among the hundreds of NWOBHM bands that never made it, More were the ones who should be on the top and enjoy a long and successful career. They had everything needed: an outstanding frontman, an excellent guitarist, great songs, powerful shows, a deal with a major label… Suddenly it started to fall apart like a house of cards. They lost the drummer Frank Darch during the recording of the first album, and by the time More went to record the second one, only Kenny Cox, the guitarist, remained from the previous line-up. Around Spring, 2022 I thought it would be cool to do a series of interviews with ex-members of More. I approached some of them via Facebook but with no luck (I steel keep the hope to interview them one day). I also tried to track down Kenny and asked Mac Backer from Mammoth for help. But after a while the news about Kenny’s passing hit the world. Finally I got in touch with Mr. Darch to talk about the early days of More and to pay a tribute to Kenny Cox. Here we go! 

George Arvanitakis (Obscure NWOBHM Releases): The guardian of NWOBHM

Remember an old saying “There is everything In Greece”? Not sure about everything, but when it comes to die-hard metal fans, it is true! One of them is George Arvanitakis, a true warrior of NWOBHM. He has been obsessed with this music for years and runs a label with the name that speaks for itself — Obscure NWOBHM Releases. It was George who brought us records of Dealer, Chain Reaction, Charlie Ungry, Goldsmith and many more!    

Taurus: Chase your dreams, not paper

There is always a good story between the dates of birth and death on a gravestone. Yours truly pretends to be a philosopher... But there is a lot of truth in these words, and the following interview proves it. Taurus. Of course you remeber these guys and their hit "Paper Chaser"! They did all the nesessary things for a NWOBHM band: toured hard, played at the Marquee, appeared in the Friday Rock Show and on the pages of Sounds and Kerrang. What else? Oh yes, they sank after a few years and never managed to release an EP, not saying an LP. But yet they have a lot of stories to share and a lot of things to be proud of. The drummer Hugh McGouran remembers the good times!