I recently dug in with New Wave of British Heavy Metal hero, and drummer, Malcolm Cope of Quartz. Among other things, we touch on the origins, trials, and tribulations of one of rock and metal music’s most underexposed bands, Quartz, new music, and more.
“We have always flown the flag for heavy metal, and we believe that it can be what you want it to be. The legacy that we will leave behind is that we have widened the horizons of what is acceptable in heavy metal.”
“If being in the shadows means being a cult band, I’d have to agree, but the name Budgie was well known and growing throughout the 70s. We never had problems selling tickets for our live shows, though commercial success always seemed just out of our grasp.”
In the late 70s and early 80s, the UK was a literal breeding ground for Heavy Metal, specifically, a movement which would come to be known as the “New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM),” and at the forefront of that movement, along with a few others, was Grim Reaper.
