Speed Metal

[Manic Ferocity]

What exactly defines this genre? Bands that are labeled speed metal seem like they could just as easily be interchanged with heavy, thrash, and power metal.

Examples are:

Motorhead
Judas Priest
Helloween
Blind Guardian
Agent Steel
Venom

 

[skeptik]

I don't have the energy to address this issue again, but I will say that there is no simple answer, let alone one right answer. Speed Metal is an ambiguous term and more of an identifier than a proper genre. The lines between Speed and its surrounding genres are so blurred that nitpicking about certain bands being labeled certain things is just annoying. I know because I used to do it.

 

[Satanstoenail]

I've never understood this either. Speed and thrash are pretty much the same thing as far as I'm concerned.

 

[IWP]

I've never understood this either. Speed and thrash are pretty much the same thing as far as I'm concerned.

So you consider Exciter and Cacophony thrash metal bands?

 

[thisisaformicatable]

I believe historically speed meant thrash and thrash meant crossover, but people began calling speed thrash instead. Speed metal is an obsolete term that has since been associated with other types of music causing needless confusion.

 

[skeptik]

Historically nearly all musical terms related to Metal stem from ambiguous origins. Speed Metal just got lost in the shuffle due to its vague nature, and many of the bands associated with it can easily be labeled Heavy, Power, or Thrash Metal.

 

[AchrisK]

I have always taken speed metal to be very similar to thrash, but less emphasis on the heaviness and with cleaner tones and possibly less rough singing.

 

[Alteredmindeath]

speed metal is dumb, I don't consider this a genre and never did. As far the the list of bands go you got NWOBHM bands and thrashy power metal fantasy of Blind Guardian. Venom is just metal mixed with punk.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

I have always taken speed metal to be very similar to thrash, but less emphasis on the heaviness and with cleaner tones and possibly less rough singing.

This is what I always considered it too.

 

[skeptik]

Except that most Speed Metal has its origins in Heavy Metal and not Thrash Metal, like Helloween and Blind Guardian. Their influences are clearly Traditional Metal in expression. Their development was a contemporary branch from Heavy Metal with Thrash Metal. Or if you look at it from an exclusively Thrash perspective, Speed Metal is its direct predecessor, citing albums such as Kill 'Em All, Show No Mercy, Killing Is My Business..., Fistful Of Metal, Bonded By Blood, and Feel The Fire.

 

[IOfTheStorm]

The differences are really OBVIOUS, as i said in a similar topic in another UM subforum some months ago:

Thrash is simply more raw, rough, harsh and violent than speed metal. Less melodic, most of the times too.

But basically it doesn't need to be explained, you just feel it when you listen to each one of them and can tell the differences without "analyzing" it. Anyway usually when i use the word "speed" next to the word "metal", it is with another word... like "power" - power/speed metal. Also Venom, Motorhead and Judas Priest are not "speed metal" and Blind Guardian + Helloween played it for only for 1-2 releases.

 

[AchrisK]

Except that most Speed Metal has its origins in Heavy Metal and not Thrash Metal, like Helloween and Blind Guardian. Their influences are clearly Traditional Metal in expression. Their development was a contemporary branch from Heavy Metal with Thrash Metal. Or if you look at it from an exclusively Thrash perspective, Speed Metal is its direct predecessor, citing albums such as Kill 'Em All, Show No Mercy, Killing Is My Business..., Fistful Of Metal, Bonded By Blood, and Feel The Fire.

I pretty much agree with the first part of this. I don't think thrash developed from speed metal in all or even many cases. I think, as you said, "[Speed metal's] development was a contemporary branch from Heavy Metal with Thrash Metal." They both continue to exist, but typically with far fewer bands going towards speed metal.

 

[Wolves83]

the first 2 or 3 Blind Guardian albums were considered speed metal.

 

[skeptik]

Duh.

Battalions Of Fear and Follow The Blind are Speed Metal, and Tales From The Twilight World, Somewhere Far Beyond, and Imaginations From The Other side have progressively declining traces of Speed Metal as well.

 

[Burkhard]

I have always taken speed metal to be very similar to thrash, but less emphasis on the heaviness and with cleaner tones and possibly less rough singing.

I fully agree with this and what IOfTheStorm wrote.

 

[TylerTheNuke]

Speed metal is like NWOBHM but faster and heavier. Sort of like clean thrash, in a way. Mostly parrallel development. Painkiller is speed metal. It really isn't that hard to tell.

 

[zoidberg]

I have always taken speed metal to be very similar to thrash, but less emphasis on the heaviness and with cleaner tones and possibly less rough singing.

yeah, like venom and motorhead, right?

 

[AchrisK]

yeah, like venom and motorhead, right?

No, like Agent Steel

 

[zoidberg]

i would agree with tyler the nuke about speed bing thrash with a NWOBHM sound, but that would make show no mercy speed! wtf am i talking about!

 

[Vitor]

speed metal and thrash metal are the same thing.

wtf problem to understand it???