What is Speed Metal ?
As the name Speed Metal may already reveal, this kind of Metal categorizes several bands whose main concentration in their songwriting was generally focussed on beginning to play with the speed that was usually the upper border of common Metal and Hard Rock bands. To name some examples of the first bands who started the first wave of modern Metal in the late 70's/very early 80's: Venom, Mythra, Resistencia, Jaguar, Exciter, Slayer, Riot and not to forget the almighty Metallica.The whole Speed Metal wave found big interest amoung the powerbanging kids and more and more bands jumped onto that train and progressed that genre with every year. While the most british Speed Metal pioneers calmed down and tried to go back to the roots of classic Heavy Metal in the mid 80's, the american and european bands were growing monthly like mushrooms out of the soil whose most important and known examples are certainly Agent Steel, Helloween, Dark Angel, Overkill, Megadeth and Acid (Bel).
Besides all those classic speed mongers the difference between classic Thrash and archetypical Speed Metal bands wasn't too extreme and both terms got often mixed while bands like Sacrifice, who obviously are a Thrash band in everyones opinion, claimed to play Speed Metal. To differ classic Speed from the Thrash bands the best example are the godz Agent Steel. While having a look at Slayers "Reign in blood" as the Thrash example and "Sceptics Apocalypse" of Agent Steel or Megadeth's "Killing is my business" in the Speed Metal corner, their furious high speed riffing guitar inferno combined with their kind of drumming (in the contrary to Slayer's style) that's more based in the classic Metal style (although alot faster) shows exactly what Speed Metal is all about.
But besides the Speed Metal type that some people label as Thrash, there's also the kind of Speed Metal born out of the classic Heavy Metal whose best examples are bands like Riot or the german Helloween. Their sound was basically focussed of high speed creations with extremely fast guitar work as well, while the drumming did differ alot from the Thrash/Speed Metal because of the all devastating double bass drum attacks thundering during the whole songs. Besides these typicals signs, the Heavy Metal based Speed Metal bands offered mainly melodic creations, although on almost every Heavy Metal album you'll find a classic Speed Metal hammer, just take Accept's "Fast as a shark".
So whenever the term Speed Metal is thrown into the round, it doesn't have to be always a Thrash Metal band.
Not a true genre of metal..
Speed metal is not a true genre of metal. It is merely a term applied to how fast a band plays. For instance Metallica's album "Kill 'em All" and Slayer's album "Show No Mercy" have been described as speed metal. However, those two albums showcase band's playing at an astonishing speed and it is this speed that would later be incorporated into other genres such as thrash, power and death metal. Therefore, some people consider speed metal its own genre as it gave birth to those aforementioned genres.It is not a separate genre though. In fact speed metal is truly only applied to bands that play at a ridiculously fast tempo. Many bands have incorporated the speed into their distinctive playing styles birthing new genres but no single band is considered a speed metal band rather they are considered thrash, power, death or other genres. Therefore, one cannot write a true definition for the term speed metal as it does not apply to an individual genre but rather the tempos at which the band plays.
Well reaching two hundred words is difficult when you can't actually define something so I'll list some other albums considered to be speed metal. Judas Priest's "Painkiller", Anthrax's "Fist full of Metal", and Motorhead's "Ace of Spades" are all considered speed metal albums. The albums are also great metal albums by some of the founding fathers of the music. Everyone should listen to the albums and enjoy the power of these bands.
Speed Metal is often..
Although it isn't exact when speed metal began, it didn't truly emerge until the early 1980's. When it first appeared on the scene it increased the tempo but held the melodic approach used by bands such as Judas Priest and Black Sabbath.Speed metal is often said to be the forbearer of thrash metal.
What sets speed metal apart is exactly as it says, the speed. Speed metal bands play extremely fast but are very precise. With its insanely fast tempos and different attitude it gave it's fans something no one had before.
Bands such as Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer led the way by bringing speed metal into mainstream by gaining a large fan base that allowed them to go platinum without the support of mainstream media, radio, or MTV.
Speed metal uses muted droning guitar riffs with quickly changing rhythms, blistering guitar speed and extremely difficult solos. With its extreme complexity and inventive structure, these musicians are some of the best around.
Even if you aren't a fan of the deep growling, powerful shouting vocals, or the anti-social lyrics, anyone with an ear and appreciation for music and true musical talent, has to respect and appreciate the talent in these musicians.
Speed Metal is..
Speed metal is a genre of heavy metal borne of necessity, and one which helped shape and define metal as we know it today.Why? Because the very essence of speed metal is the epitome of everything that metal music is ultimately all about; pushing things to the limit.
For as long as anyone can care to remember, metal musicians, whether consciously or subconsciously, have been trying to out-do each other and themselves, constantly pushing their work to the extreme in an attempt to be harder, heavier, louder and, of course, faster.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF SPEED
It was for this reason that prominent seventies metal bands such as Judas Priest, Motorhead and Deep Purple (who's song 'Highway Star', with its quick and clever solos and high-speed one-note riffary is largely credited as the first speed metal song) upped the tempo of their tunes and essentially created the blueprint for what speed metal would become.
Over time, New Wave of British Heavy Metal (commonly referred to as NWOBHM), bands such as Iron Maiden, Raven and Venom (who themselves would go on to be regarded as the founders of black metal) would develop the genre further, lending their influence to a number of bands who would later be revered as the 'Big Four' of yet another genre of music; thrash metal.
Slayer's satanic debut 'Show No Mercy', Metallica's barnstorm of blood n' beer known as 'Kill Em All', Anthrax's furious debut 'Fistful of Metal' and Megadeth's 'Killing is My Business...And Business is Good' all contained elements of speed metal combined with punk's aggressive streak and visceral guitars which would ultimately be the genesis of thrash metal.
Speed metal's influence on the metal genre as a whole didn't end there though, and in 1988, German band Helloween would release their debut album 'Walls of Jericho', and both band and album are largely credited with forming the foundations of what would become known as power metal, a sound noted for it's speed, high-pitched vocals and a lyrical fondness for fantasy and mythology.
Whilst not as prominent today, speed metal still enjoys a large following, with bands such as Agent Steel and Primal Fear leading the way for the next genre of heavy metal music to develop from the foundations of speed metal.
SPEED METAL IN A NUTSHELL:
So that's the history of the genre, but what exactly is 'speed metal'?
Though the two are often used interchangeably, speed and thrash metal are two separate genres; speed metal characteristically employing the same break-neck riffs as thrash, yet forgoing the brutality of the latter to make way for a heavier emphasis on melody and technical excellence.
Speed Metal first emerged as..
Speed metal is a loosely defined sub-genre of heavy metal that spawned in the mid-late 1970s and was the direct musical progenitor of thrash metal. When Speed metal first emerged as a genre, it innovatively increased the tempo of the music template set forth by Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple while keeping their melodic ideas. Speed Metal can find its significant beginnings with NWOBHM bands.Many speed metal bands also ostensibly fall within the categories of other heavy metal sub-genres, typically Thrash metal and Power metal. This is mainly due to the influence speed metal had on the development of these genres, although it should also be mentioned that Speed metal was used by some Glam metal and NWOBHM groups during the 1980s.
