Lords of NWOBHM in Tokyo
A terrific celebration of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with members from Raven, Persian Risk, Tank, Diamond Head and Praying Mantis.
Lords of NWOBHM at Holiday Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, on 12th January 2026
Lords of NWOBHM is a new constellation of artists who have joined forces to celebrate the late 70s/early 80s era of British heavy metal. The band consists of a fine group of people: Carl Sentance (Persian Risk, Nazareth, Krokus, Geezer Butler, Don Airey) on vocals, Cliff Evans (Tank) and Tino Troy (Praying Mantis) on guitars, John Gallagher (Raven) on bass and vocals, and Karl Wilcox (Diamond Head, Tank) on drums. Each one of these lads comes with bags overflowing with experience and battle scars from the road. But together as a band, this is explosive.
In Tokyo, the Lords of NWOBHM put on a terrific celebration of the now legendary New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene. The setlist was a sublime combination of classic songs from the members’ own bands and songs from other bands from the era. This was the band’s third-ever gig, following a warm-up gig in London and the first Japan show the evening before. Let’s hope that this is the start of something long-term for the Lords of NWOBHM.
They opened the gig with Samson’s “Riding with the Angels”. The Japanese audience was with them from the first note. We knew that these gents were up for it. But it was a treat to see them, not least John Gallagher, who had brain surgery just a few months ago, give it their all up on stage.
We got a lot good old songs this evening in Shinjuku: Tank’s “Shellshock” and “(He Fell in Love with a) Stormtrooper”, Persian Risk’s “Riding High” and “Women and Rock”, Raven’s “Don’t Need Your Money” and “Break the Chain”, Diamond Head’s “In the Heat of the Night” and “Am I Evil?” and Praying Mantis’ “Lovers to the Grave” and “Children of the Earth”.
We also got treated to “Hellbound” (Tygers of Pan Tang), “Princess of the Night” (Saxon) and “Ace of Spades” (Motörhead). A great version of “Angel Witch” was dedicated to the fallen Angel Witch bassist Kevin Riddle. The terrific show was rounded off with a nod to the late Paul Di’Anno in the form of Iron Maiden’s “Phantom of the Opera”.
Rule Britannia!
