Saxon was one of the early leaders of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, alongside Iron Maiden and Def Leppard, even outdistancing them at the onset. Emerging in 1977, the band found commercial success with the release of their seminal sophomore effort, 1980's Wheels of Steel, which went platinum in the U.K.. Subsequent efforts Strong Arm of the Law (1980), Denim and Leather (1981), and Power & the Glory also did well at home, with the latter outing cracking the Billboard 200, but a series of bad decisions and bad breaks, as well as internal strife, severely stunted the band's momentum toward the end of the '80s.