<P> The dress code of the British headbangers reflected the newly found cohesion of the movement and recalled the look of 1960s rockers and American bikers . The common elements were long hair and jeans, black or white T - shirts with band logos and cover art and leather jackets or denim vests adorned with patches . Following the example of Judas Priest, elements of S&M fashion entered the metal wardrobe of the 1980s and it became typical to show off metallic studs and ornaments, or for metal musicians to wear spandex or leather trousers . Elements of militaria, such as bullet belts and insignia, were also introduced at this time . This style of dress quickly became the uniform of metalheads worldwide . </P> <P> Most bands of the NWOBHM had the same look as their fans and produced rock shows without special visual effects . A notable exception was Iron Maiden, which created the grisly character Eddie the Head as a stage prop to enrich their performances very early in their career . Other exceptions were Demon, Cloven Hoof and Samson, which used various props, costumes and tricks in their shows, while Pagan Altar and Venom became well known for their elaborate scenography inspired by shock rock and Satanism . </P> <P> The NWOBHM--comprising bands with very different influences and styles--was promoted as both a movement and a distinct music genre only in its formative years during the mid-to - late 1970s . Especially in those early years, what characterised the flood of new music was its raw sound, due in large part to low - budget productions, but also to the amateurish talents of many young bands . Those young musicians were also linked by a shared inspiration from the works of the aforementioned successful heavy rock bands of the late 1960s and 1970s, and kept a sort of continuity with the earlier acts, whose music had temporarily gone out of fashion, but was still thriving underground . However, the media of the 1980s and the promotional literature of record labels typically placed rock music that employed loud guitars, but was not classifiable as "punk" under the blanket term "heavy metal", subsuming the entire spectrum of NWOBHM bands within a single music genre . </P> <P> Following a largely organic and uncalculated impulse, many of these new bands infused classic heavy metal with the immediacy of pub rock and the intensity of punk rock, implementing to various degrees the crossover of genres started by Motörhead; in general they shunned ballads, de-emphasised harmonies and produced shorter songs with fast tempos and a very aggressive sound based on riffs and power chords, featuring vocals ranging from high pitched wails to gruff and low growls . Iron Maiden, Angel Witch, Saxon, Holocaust, Tygers of Pan Tang, Girlschool, Tank and More are notable performers of this style, which bands such as Atomkraft, Jaguar, Raven and Venom stretched to produce even more extreme results . Critics consider this new approach to heavy metal the greatest musical accomplishment of the NWOBHM and an important evolutionary step for the genre . </P>

Which british band was referred to as ground zero for future loud and metallic sounding bands