"Heavy metal slammed into the 1980s at full force, with clean lines and no hesitation. While hard-rock forebears like Aerosmith and Kiss struggled during the tail of the 1970s against disco headwinds and the mockery of three-chord punk, fledgling heavy-metal bands cut their teeth in the shadows and prepared for a big takeover. Then, boom: 1980 exploded with debuts from Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Diamond Head and Angel Witch — pillars of the so-called New Wave of British Heavy Metal, or NWOBHM — as well as career-high shock treatments by elders Judas Priest, Saxon and Motörhead."