 The new wave of British heavy metal ( commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM ) was a nationwide musical movement that started in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s . Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term in a May 1979 issue of the British music newspaper Sounds to describe the emergence of new heavy metal bands in the late 1970s , during the period of punk rock 's decline and the dominance of new wave music . 
