Speed metal

Speed metal Stylistic origins: Thrash metal - Power metal Glam metal - NWOBHM Visual Kei Early-Mid 1970s, United States of America,United kingdom

Cultural origins:

Typical instruments: Mainstream popularity:

Guitar Bass guitar Drums

Moderate in the late 1970s, Slightly more popular until early 1990s, Underground ever since

Regional scenes
United Kingdom - United States

Other topics
Extreme metal

Speed metal is a blanket term used to describe bands from various 1970s and 1980s heavy metal subgenres, who use tempos or beats that are faster than is normal for their specific genre. The bands who are most commonly labelled as "Speed metal" also fall into several other heavy metal subgenres, most often; Thrash metal and Power metal. Though Speed metal has also been used by, Glam metal and NWOBHM groups. Some Visual Kei bands are also described as Speed metal, a famous example of this are X-Japan.

History
Origins
Thundersteel by 70s New York City band Riot is widely considered to be a seminal speed metal album. Bands such as Judas Priest and Accept, although not typically cited as speed metal bands, are usually considered to be the main developers of the faster tempos common amongst speed metal bands. Two of the earliest speed metal songs are Deep Purple's "Highway Star" from their 1972 album Machine Head and Black Sabbath's "Children of the Grave", from their 1972 album Master of Reality. Earlier efforts with a similar style include Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" (from the album of that name, 1970) and also Deep Purple's "Speed King" (from the 1970 In Rock LP) and "Fireball" (From the 1970 Fireball LP). However, it was "Highway Star" that introduced into heavy metal both the extreme speed of the singlenote riffing and also the complex guitar and keyboard solos (performed by Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord, respectively), borrowed from progressive rock of the '70s, but heavily influenced by classical music. These features commonly went on to be associated

with more modern metal genres, but at the time, was typical of speed metal characteristics. [edit]

1980s evolution of Speed metal

In the 1980s Speed metal evolved and was used in the music of; X Japan's Ill Kill You (1985), Helloween's Walls of Jericho (1985), Motrhead's live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith (1981), and the band Megadeth, who consider themselves as the "World's State-of-the-Art Speed Metal Band". Prior to joining Megadeth, Marty Friedman collaborated with Jason Becker in the band Cacophony, who are often cited as speed metal.

Motrhead -- No Sleep 'til Hammersmith Although Speed metal is most prevalent amongst Thrash metal and Power metal subgenres of Heavy metal, some Glam metal bands and NWOBHM bands songs are also be classified as speed metal. For example;

"Be Quick or Be Dead" by Iron Maiden "Queen of the Reich" by Queensrche "Slave to the Grind" by Skid Row "Body Talk" by Ratt "Live Wire" by Mtley Cre "Kill the King"' by Rainbow "Robotman" by Scorpions "Tear it Loose" by Twisted Sister "Hell to Eternity" by W.A.S.P. "Paris is Burning" by Dokken

[edit]

Current use

The term "Speed metal" is still used to glorify and differentiate bands with high-speed playing, though the term is branching out to include bands from both gothic metal and progressive metal as well. Some believe that Painkiller (1990), the last album Judas Priest released before the departure of singer Rob Halford (who would later return in 2004), has set a new standard for speed metal.

Speed Metal (See also) heavy metal, progressive rock, hardcore punk ,doom metal, thrash, grindcore
Speed metal is a small subset of the heavy metal movement and even rabid hardcore fans can't always agree on which bands fit in this category. It is very similar to thrash metal but combines more progressive rock elements with lyrical elements of apocalyptic fears and collective oppression. One thing that most agree on is that the genre is defined by blistering guitar speed, progressive rock arrangements, twisted song structures, extremely difficult guitar solos and anti social lyrics. Combining elements of extreme hardcore punk and traditional heavy metal, speed metal was a big influence on the doom metal thrash, progressive metal, and grindcore movements.

Speed metal used muted droning guitar riffs with rapidly alternating rhythms and dramatic subjects like pollution, war, nuclear weapons, and corporate greed. Vocals were sung in a deep growling voice or shouted in powerful burst similar to hardcore punk. While this music was highly complex and often inventive in structure, it remained roughly within the confines of rock-based mainstream music and passed its technique on to the underground thrash metal and grindcore to follow. Three acts seem to come up often in the discussion of speed metal; Metallica, Megadeth, and Exodus. Metallica's album kill them all was a definite influence on the movement and is arguably the first speed metal album. Metallica's groundbreaking Master of Puppets mixed the progressive rock with antisocial and vicious hardcore punk to create a huge ripple in the rock genre spawning many other speed metal bands. Megadeth was started by original Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine who's dark guitar riffs elaborate thrash structures, and droning open chord combined with dark but intelligently written lyrics on subjects like war, and nuclear assault, hit the scene like an atom bomb when they released their epic Peace sells in 86. Exodus burst on to the scene in 85 with their debut release Bonded by Blood which was very definitive of the genre and got great critical acclaim before being overshadowed by Metallica. Eventually guitarist Kirt Hammet joined Metallica and the stage was set for speed metal to break through to the mainstream. Other bands of interest are Prong, Voivod, Nuclear Assault and many others

SPEED METAL

Heavy metal grew up after hardcore and got faster, borrowing the more interesting ideas from the 1970s prog-rock explosion to make poetically convoluted song structures and thunderous, socially-abrasive riffing. While speed metal is not a focus of this site, we hail to the ancestors who brought structuralism and strumming technique to underground metal. The forces that created speed metal were like the 1980s themselves: suffocating, immobilizing, neurotic, and paranoid. In the collision of extreme hardcore and the NWOBHM riffmasters, speed metal was spawned and with it the rising death/black metal family of techniques.

Nuclear Assault Powermad Prong Torturer Voivod