 The movement spawned perhaps a thousand metal bands , but only a few survived the advent of MTV and the rise of the more commercial glam metal in the second half of the 1980s . Among them , Iron Maiden and Def Leppard became international stars , and Motörhead and Saxon had considerable success . Other groups , such as Diamond Head , Venom and Raven , remained underground but were a major influence on the successful extreme metal subgenres of the late 1980s and 1990s . Many bands from the NWOBHM reunited in the 2000s and remained active through live performances and new studio albums . 
