 The NWOBHM triggered a renaissance in a stagnant rock genre , but took on heavy criticism for the excessive local media hype surrounding a legion of typically mediocre musicians . Detractors think that , unlike heavy metal of the preceding decades , their music was unoriginal and included no classic rock recordings . Nevertheless , these bands and their diverse output offered a blueprint that counterparts across the Western world would later emulate and expand . The collision of styles that characterized the NWOBHM is now seen as key to the diversification of heavy metal in the second half of the 1980s into various subgenres that came to the fore in the 1990s . The stardom of Def Leppard in the US provided a catalyst for the growth of glam metal , just as bands like Angel Witch , Witchfynde , Cloven Hoof and especially Venom generated the music , lyrics , cover art and attitude that sparked black metal in its various forms in Europe and America . Motörhead , Iron Maiden , Raven , Tank , Venom and other minor groups are viewed as precursors of speed metal and thrash metal , two subgenres which carried forward the crossover with punk , incorporating elements of hardcore while amplifying volume , velocity and aggressive tone . Starting around 1982 , distant points such as North America , West Germany , and Brazil each became the locus of its own distinctive thrash metal scenes – East Coast and Bay Area , Teutonic , and Brazilian thrash metal . Their debt to the NWOBHM was acknowledged for example by Metallica 's Lars Ulrich , an active fan and avid collector of NWOBHM recordings and memorabilia . Under his influence , the set lists of Metallica 's early shows were filled with covers of British metal groups . The sound of the NWOBHM even " cross @-@ pollinated " a subgenre of punk , as UK 82 street punk bands like Discharge blended punk music with elements of metal . 
