Speed Metal

Like its been mentioned, speed metal is a hard genre to pin down. My general rule of thumb is if it's thrash sounding but has higher pitched vocals and is musically more technical, I usually consider it speed metal. But, thats just me.

Machine Fish wrote:Like its been mentioned, speed metal is a hard genre to pin down. My general rule of thumb is if it's thrash sounding but has higher pitched vocals and is musically more technical, I usually consider it speed metal. But, thats just me.

Works for me. So I guess the Forbidden qualifies, as well. How about bands like

Antithesis


or

Realm

Realm definitely, I forgot about them. Their stuff is really hard to find. I like Antithesis too, I think with them for me anyways it depends on the song really. I kind of lump Antithesis more onto Progressive metal side with Thrash tendencies. But, yeah I can see Antithesis as a Speed metal band.

Don't forget early Annihilator too, especially the Never Neverland album.

I maybe reaching on this one, but I think Tourniquet's Psychosurgery qualifies as Speed metal as well. The technical playing is astounding. Especially the neoclassical parts.

In my metal journey I've personally found Thrash to be a fun genre but when it is  started being called Technical or Progressive I have a hard time agreeing. I love Thrash but keep it simple and ripping. Speed metal fills the technical and progressive side while keeping the aggression.

Most of Rage's albums are nice and speedy...check out their 'Perfect Man' or 'Secrets In A Weird World'

Machine Fish wrote:Like its been mentioned, speed metal is a hard genre to pin down. My general rule of thumb is if it's thrash sounding but has higher pitched vocals and is musically more technical, I usually consider it speed metal. But, thats just me.

Exactly dude!!! I'd consider Forte and Forbidden both Speed Metal mixed with Thrash Metal.



Megadeth's early stuff is certainly Speed Metal too!!! And I'd agree with most of what you guys are calling Speed Metal! For sure! Not everybody quite 'gets' the difference between Speed and Thrash Metal. It's a fine line to be certain, but I'd agree 100% with the definition of Machine Fish!

pathogenics_cloned_twin83 wrote:Most of Rage's albums are nice and speedy...check out their 'Perfect Man' or 'Secrets In A Weird World'

Perfect Man is an awesome album

Here's a personal fave of nearly 30 years:

Oh good call on Agent Steel Metal Mark!!!

That's a band I've been meaning to pursue for years now, but whenever I go to buy CDs I seem to forget about them!

I thought of a Christian speed metal band. Probably more thrash, but worth a mention.

metaldude wrote:I thought of a Christian speed metal band. Probably more thrash, but worth a mention.

I'd agree that is Thrash Metal! Very good stuff though!!!



           

^^ You gotta admit, it'll meet the need for speed.

RavenWolf wrote:Oh good call on Agent Steel Metal Mark!!!

That's a band I've been meaning to pursue for years now, but whenever I go to buy CDs I seem to forget about them!

Great!  I was hoping that would suit your taste...I think that their Unstoppable Force album is totally superior, but slightly less likely than Skeptics... to be pigeonholed as 'speed metal.'

metaldude wrote:^^ You gotta admit, it'll meet the need for speed.  

   

Is Raven considered Speed Metal? (on a side note, thats a band i need to check out more)

Good call on Raven! Yeah, they do have some Speed Metal albums. I think the majority of their stuff is Heavy Metal, but they did have a period of time there when they were more Speed Metal.

Speed Metal in general is pretty hard to replicate because the genre (though it was fresh and new in the early 80s), split into two forks.

On the one side - there was the new creation of Power Metal (spear-headed by the likes of Helloween and Blind Guardian, who once sported the Speed Metal genre)

and on the other side: you had Speed Metal bands picking up the speed even faster and going crazy with Thrash Metal! Like Anthrax and Slayer. Both Anthrax and Slayer delivered solid Speed Metal goods on their debut albums ... only to morph into full fledged Thrash Metal bands on their follow up albums! Both bands!

So it's almost like a doomed genre to even try to replicate because it's such a small genre compared to the genres it changed into (Power and Thrash Metal, respectively).

The one band who IMHO stayed true to Speed Metal the longest was Megadeth. Heck, even in 1990, Megadeth created an excellent slab of Speed Metal with "Rust in Peace".

Not to mention bands like Agent Steel and others like them who have stayed true to Speed Metal to the most degree possible.

I've always considered Destiny's End speed metal.  James Rivera (from Helstar - another speed metal band IMO) is on vocals.