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How do you guys define "speed metal?" |
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LightningRider 
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 Topic: How do you guys define "speed metal?"Posted: 02 Oct 2021 at 9:50am |
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New here, big metal fan all my life. I'm mostly into power and thrash, and I've got some good experience in black metal, but I noticed that speed metal's exact definition changes from place to place. Megadeth is considered speed on Lastfm, but RYM hardly considers it anymore, for example. Also, they took speed off the entire Dragonforce catalog. I'm just wondering how everyone here defines it. Consider this my official ice-breaker. And if you'd like to know, my favorite speed album (based on my def and the fact that 5/9 songs meet that def) is Metal Church.
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adg211288
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Posted: 02 Oct 2021 at 12:52pm |
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Speed metal is a bit of a minefield.
I was introduced to the concept as it being the precursor of both thrash and power metal. That makes a lot of sense for power metal, since the early German PM bands started out as speed metal bands, but the timelines don't line up to well for thrash metal. Granted though that US speed metal bands have more in common with thrash metal and European speed metal bands with power metal. Though US Power metal into the mix and it gets even more complicated. The best description for speed metal I've ever seen anywhere is that there are a lot of speed metal songs, a good number of speed metal albums, but not many speed metal bands. In terms of being a musical style I define it as being less melodic than power metal, but less abrasive than thrash metal. I don't hear that much that fits the bill to be honest. Personally I think that whole spectrum of genres from heavy metal through speed, USPM, power and thrash is all kinds of messy. As one example, I would rather call the harder edged German bands speed metal opposed to power metal, but the likes of Grave Digger are firmly considered to be power metal to most people.
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Triceratopsoil
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Posted: 02 Oct 2021 at 2:06pm |
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halfway between nwobhm and thrash imo
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LightningRider
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Posted: 02 Oct 2021 at 3:07pm |
Out of curiosity, can you list some examples of songs and albums?
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adg211288
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Posted: 02 Oct 2021 at 3:26pm |
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I'll have to have a think about specific songs that aren't from speed metal albums, though the most famous one is surely Motorhead's Ace of Spades.
For speed metal albums though, a lot of the early ones from German bands who turned into the first power metal bands: Helloween, Blind Guardian, Rage, Running Wild etc. On the US side I'd throw in Agent Steel, who were also typically put in the USPM crowd.
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LightningRider
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Posted: 02 Oct 2021 at 3:54pm |
Agent Steel, Venom, Stormwarrior and Exciter are four of the most consistent bands in the actual genre from what I can gather. Paradox also makes a lot of speed metal. I agree that most speed metal acts don't focus on it. The problem with it is that speed metal doesn't really focus on emphasizing creativity, and on a grander scale it forsakes any necessity for ballads or build-up. I'll include Megadeth (at least most of the albums before Countdown), the first two Metal Church albums and Live, and easily the first Helloween EP and Walls of Jericho. Current top 10: 1. Metal Church - Metal Church 2. Megadeth - Rust in Peace 3. Stormwarrior - At Foreign Shores, Live in Japan (A must hear for any power metal or speed metal fan) 4. Metal Church - The Dark 5. Megadeth - Peace Sells, but Who's Buying? 6. Stormwarrior - Heading Northe 7. Metallica - Kill 'Em All 8. Walls of Jericho 9. Stormwarrior - Thunder & Steele 10. Metal Church - Live
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And the Trogdor comes in the NIIIIGHT!
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LightningRider
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Posted: 02 Oct 2021 at 5:19pm |
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Something I forgot to mention: the purest of speed metal has a tendency to focus on jamming songs rather than emotional tension. Think about it. The tension comes from the rocking on many Venom and Exciter albums.
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And the Trogdor comes in the NIIIIGHT!
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Unitron
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Posted: 02 Oct 2021 at 6:25pm |
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I don't, speed metal isn't a thing as far as I'm concerned lol For me it's either power metal or thrash metal. It just seems like a middle man label to me, and if something sounds like both I'd rather just call it power-thrash.
This makes sense to me though, which is basically the early thrash sound. (Well, early thrash once it really became a thing, there's a few songs from the 70's I'd call proto-thrash)
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Triceratopsoil
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Posted: 02 Oct 2021 at 6:28pm |
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yeah I don't feel strongly about the difference, if any, between speed metal, USPM, and half the stuff in the Heavy Metal subgenre on this site
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Vim Fuego
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Posted: 02 Oct 2021 at 8:50pm |
Yeah, it really is.  It's harder to identify these days, but back in the 80s it was more obvious. If you look at the tracklist for the Speed Kills compilations, they were supposed to be the best of speed metal. The only speed metal songs I'd identify here:Speed Kills: Hallows Eve - Metal Merchants Exciter - Riders From Darkness Speed Kills 2: Agent Steel - The Calling / Agents Of Steel Destructor - Pounding Evil (New Version) Brainfever - Brainfever (Remix) Speed Kills 3: Agent Steel - Unstoppable Force English Dogs - The Eye Of Shamahn After that, nothing. And of course someone else will come along and tell me some of these are power metal, but it really wasn't a thing then same as it is now.
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adg211288
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Posted: 03 Oct 2021 at 2:16am |
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We could consider the following three statements:
Speed metal is a less aggressive form of thrash metal. Speed metal is just heavy metal, played faster. Speed metal is a less melodic form of (Euro) power metal. All are basically the same thing. There's definitely more of a relationship between power and thrash than some thrash fans care to admit. Speed metal is the bridge between them. We might say its for songs, albums and sometimes bands that don't quite fit in the other three. Viking metal is in a similar situation, mainly with black and folk metal.
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UMUR
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Posted: 03 Oct 2021 at 2:57am |
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I´d say somewhere between trad metal and thrash metal. Early releases by Anthrax and Overkill fall in that catagory IMO.
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Wyvern_13
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Posted: 2 hours 22 minutes ago at 2:38pm |
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I've sort of jumped back and forth over the fence on this one over the years. On one hand there is a sort of sound that I do associate with Speed Metal (basically just Metal Church) but on the other I kinda feel that the term is a relic of the times when subgenres just werent all that well defined and people just threw descriptors around without much thought and a lot of bands that get labeled as Speed could probably be better defined as something else (usually some variation of Heavy, Power and Thrash).
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adg211288 wrote: