Lords Of NWOBHM, the new supergroup that unites members of Praying Mantis, Diamond Head, Raven, Tank, and Persian Risk, played their debut show last night at the Cart & Horses. Before they hit the stage, MetalTalk caught up with Japan-bound Tino Troy (Praying Mantis), John Gallagher (Raven), Karl Wilcox (Diamond Head), Cliff Evans (Tank) and Carl Sentance (Persian Risk) to find out more about this exciting project.
The seeds were sown between Tino and Cliff over a beer or two at the Jolly Fisherman in Hastings. “The idea came like putting this like super group together,” Cliff said, “and thinking out who we can get in there to do the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. We put this dream line up together, and, you know, the next day we still remembered what we were talking about.”
In true pub conversation style, Tino Troy had written the lineup down on a beer mat. “We thought this actually is not a bad idea,” Cliff said, “because no one else is doing this. I thought we would get these guys in who have been in big bands, and we put it out to a Japanese promoter.”
The promoter was straight back, saying they wanted the show, and as Cliff says, it was time to “get their shit together.” The lineup was arranged, the set decided on, and the day after the Cart & Horses show, the band is travelling to Japan for two shows in Tokyo.
“We hadn’t actually all been in the same room together until this past Monday,” Cliff said. The Lords Of NWOBHM had three rehearsals this week in Saffron Walden to learn the set and get gig sharp.
“We’re representing the whole era,” Cliff said. “It’s not about every individual band. We’re representing the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. It’s the whole show, so everyone’s going to love the songs that we’re doing. It’s going to be just a lot of fun.”
“Cliff first approached me a year ago about the same thing,” Tino said. “I thought, I don’t know, let’s see. But when he mentioned it again the second time I went, yeah, I reckon it could have legs. It has got legs.”
MetalTalk will have a review of the show up soon, but it is fair to say that this definitely has legs. Just with these five members alone, there are around 47 albums that the bands have released. We soon dismissed the idea of creating a family tree, as it would be a tangled ball of wool.
“We just think, it’s like we just put a bunch of guys in the band,” Cliff says. “When you think about it, it’s going back 45 years or something.”
For John Gallagher and Raven, it is their 52nd year in 2026. “My family tree needs watering. And let me say something else, this is all bollocks. He’s [pointing at Cliff] been blackmailing us for years.” Cue laughter.
What finally clinched it then? “The photographs of me breaking er the pandemic, the lockdown,” John says to more laughter.
For tonight’s set, the band chose a cross-section of different songs. “A few not so obvious,” Cliff says. “It’s about having a good night out. I’m sure if we move this forward, we’ll do more stuff. We can change the setlist around, add different ones in there. But tonight I think everyone’s going to be happy with the selection that we’ve got. We’ve got a special guest coming up for the very last song. It’s about having a good night out, bringing back those memories, and again just representing that era, that time.”
During the three days of rehearsal, the Lords Of NWOBHM found it all coming together nicely. “We’re all playing our own different styles from different bands we’re in,” Cliff says. “Each of our bands has been slightly different. So having a combination of all the different influences in there and tackling those songs, it’s got our own sound to it as well.”
As John says, there is common ground. “We all have probably similar influences. We all grew in the same soil here in England. It’s a lot of fun. I mean, I’ve known Cliff forever, I’ve known Carl about 15 years now, and these two [pointing at Karl and Tino], I don’t know what we’re going to do with. No, lovely guys. It’s been a lot of fun. It really has.”
“I thought, I’ll be picked on because I don’t play the guitar like I should on these songs,” Tino smiles. “But it’s just like we come together. The first rehearsal, we just blasted through it all and said, well, it sounded great. Second day I was oh shit, I’ve got to learn this properly now and on the third day, I still got to learn this properly. But why not just plunge into the deep end and let’s go for it.”
Following tonight’s show, the five get on the plane to Japan. All five of their respective bands have had experience there, whether it be touring or with their back catalogues, and you can feel the excitement among them.
“I think this will be the fifth time I’ve been over there,” John Gallagher says, “and they’re amazing. They’re very knowledgeable, very, believe it or not, very passionate and very respectful too. The crews and the venues are ultra-professional, so it’s always a pleasure to go there. We love it.”
“The whole new NWOBHM thing is really coming back,” Cliff says. “It’s quite big over there at the moment. There’s a good, solid fan base for the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, and they are passionate about it. They all come out with their battle jackets, and they get right into it. They’ll know all the songs.”
While John may be joking about pouring sake into their water bottles, the good news is there much more on the horizon for Lords Of NWOBHM in 2026.
“Establishing ourselves with these first few gigs will put us on the map,” Tino laughs, “or make us disappear. I reckon the first one. It’s got legs. We reckon we’ll do well out of it, and yeah, we’ll just suck it and see as it comes along now, after these few days.”
“It’s a celebration of the era,” Cliff says. “So as we build it up, it’ll be more of a show, different songs and different stuff for the show, different special guests here and there.
“So you know, it’s that one-stop shop for the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal.”
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