The Obscure NWOBHM Archive

Welcome to The Obscure NWOBHM Archive — formerly NWOBHM Obscurities and Rarities.

An independent, non-profit project dedicated to finding, preserving, documenting and sharing obscure, forgotten and unreleased music from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

Many recordings survive only on rare vinyl, demos, acetates, rehearsal tapes, live recordings or in private collections. Some have never been released and others have little or no digital presence.

The aim is simple: find the music, preserve it and keep it circulating.

The Archive includes rare releases, demos, unreleased material, rehearsals, live recordings, radio sessions and alternate versions, with new transfers and source upgrades wherever possible.

The project is backed by an extensive, continually researched NWOBHM Band Index documenting what is known, what survives and what remains missing.

NWOBHM's boundaries are contentious, so the Archive takes a broad, evidence-led approach drawn from all known major sources.