your all time favorite SPEED metal band ...

A lot of the genre descriptions and understandings are based on personal opinion. What is or what isn't speed metal or any other genre for that matter, can be held in popular consensus as a reflection of how right or wrong you may be. But in the end ... it's all in the ear of the beholder.

Sanctuary...

Back in the day the terms "speed metal" and "thrash metal" were inter-changeable, you'd hear both used to describe the same bands. So to me they're more or less the same.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Back in the day the terms "speed metal" and "thrash metal" were inter-changeable, you'd hear both used to describe the same bands. So to me they're more or less the same.

Agreed.

ultmetal wrote:

I know, I'm a genre nazi.

I am too, so I will shut up (for the most part) in this thread

I still don't know the difference between speed metal and thrash.

Witchfinder wrote:

I still don't know the difference between speed metal and thrash.

Speed metal tends to be more:
melodic, consonant. Sometimes almost like a sped up IRON MAIDEN.
tends to have melodic vocals

Thrash tends to be more:
dissonant, crunchy
tends to have raspier vocals

I think of "Spreading the Disease" and "Fistful of Metal" as speed metal albums and "Among the Living" as a thrash metal album.

Temple of Blood wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

I still don't know the difference between speed metal and thrash.

Speed metal tends to be more:
melodic, consonant. Sometimes almost like a sped up IRON MAIDEN.
tends to have melodic vocals

Thrash tends to be more:
dissonant, crunchy
tends to have raspier vocals

I think of "Spreading the Disease" and "Fistful of Metal" as speed metal albums and "Among the Living" as a thrash metal album.

This is my understanding too but the line is so blurry with bands that it's impossible to tell in many situations. Further, speed metal as a term is rarely used anymore so its definition is murky.

Witchfinder wrote:

This is my understanding too but the line is so blurry with bands that it's impossible to tell in many situation. Further, speed metal as a term is rarely used anymore so its definition is murky.

When it starts getting into the hair splitting "this album by such-and-such a band is speed metal, but then this album by the same band is thrash metal," I just say "Awww, I give up, the hell with it."

Fat Freddy wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

This is my understanding too but the line is so blurry with bands that it's impossible to tell in many situation. Further, speed metal as a term is rarely used anymore so its definition is murky.

When it starts getting into the hair splitting "this album by such-and-such a band is speed metal, but then this album by the same band is thrash metal," I just say "Awww, I give up, the hell with it."

Agree! It's all Metal to me!!!!

Temple of Blood wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

I still don't know the difference between speed metal and thrash.

Speed metal tends to be more:
melodic, consonant. Sometimes almost like a sped up IRON MAIDEN.
tends to have melodic vocals

Thrash tends to be more:
dissonant, crunchy
tends to have raspier vocals

I think of "Spreading the Disease" and "Fistful of Metal" as speed metal albums and "Among the Living" as a thrash metal album.

I agree 100% ToB. You nailed it!

Do I even need to say it?

Exciter!

First BLIND GUARDIAN albums are pure speed metal too. Later they became more power/epic but FOLLOW THE BLIND is pure speed metal!!!!!!!

Yeah! Great call Krokus!!! I freeking love early Blind Guardian. They were much better than what they became IMHO.

Metallic Blaze wrote:

Yeah! Great call Krokus!!! I freeking love early Blind Guardian. They were much better than what they became IMHO.

yeahhhh I agree. Love those two albums.

I always separated Speed Metal from Thrash Metal by the vocals...Agent Steel, if they had raspier, more staccato vocals, would be Thrash...IMO.

But whatever...

Speaking of Blind Guardian, my favorite is still Imaginations From The Other Side..."I'm Alive" is amazing...

I'm surprised only one person mentioned Motorhead. I've always thought of them as speed metal more than anything else. I guess where they fell in history though, maybe they should be more proto-speed. Talk about splitting hairs!

Even 'way back when' when the term speed metal first popped up, it was hard to define. Back then, if it was faster than Priest or Maiden, etc then it was speed metal(ish). (Kind of like speeding up Rapid Fire).

It is an elusive term to apply but when I think of it, I usually think of 'songs' and not bands. A lot of power metal, thrash metal, NWOBHM have songs that can be labeled as 'speed'.

I haven't heard it for a while but Attacker--'the second coming' came to mind to me. As well as Powermad's "The madness begins" ep.

I usually do not care about genre labeling unless a band claims a descriptor/label for the image of it but their music does not reflect it.

krokus wrote:

First BLIND GUARDIAN albums are pure speed metal too. Later they became more power/epic but FOLLOW THE BLIND is pure speed metal!!!!!!!

If someone asks me what speed metal is, i make them listen to Battalions of Fear and Follow the Blind.

Speed metal at its best

Gilbert wrote:

krokus wrote:

First BLIND GUARDIAN albums are pure speed metal too. Later they became more power/epic but FOLLOW THE BLIND is pure speed metal!!!!!!!

If someone asks me what speed metal is, i make them listen to Battalions of Fear and Follow the Blind.

Speed metal at its best

Stender wrote:

Metallic Blaze wrote:

Yeah! Great call Krokus!!! I freeking love early Blind Guardian. They were much better than what they became IMHO.

yeahhhh I agree. Love those two albums.

Yeah, graet albums. Also the first two SCANNER albums are amazing, same with the first mini lp and lp by HELLOWEEN, nice speed metal!!!!!!! Also WARRANT from Germany (yes again) were a speed metal band and also the first STRANGER lp(yes, again from Germany), is amazing.

ultmetal wrote:

Deliverance use to make a point to say in interviews that they weren't a thrash metal band, but a speed metal band. I suppose the difference being a thin line that mostly has to do with the vocals approach.

I'm really surprised to hear that, because they really have that thrash metal "crunch" in their sound. Maybe I need to listen to Deliverance more often. Speed metal and thrash metal tend to mix a lot, though, and while a lot of bands fall into both categories (like Anthrax, as previously mentioned), I think there are still lots of bands that you can recognize as pure speed metal (Exciter, Znowhite on their two EPs, etc.) or as pure thrash metal (Slayer, Kreator, etc.)

Krokus - Warrant and Vectom rule supreme!!

Witchfinder wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

I still don't know the difference between speed metal and thrash.

Speed metal tends to be more:
melodic, consonant. Sometimes almost like a sped up IRON MAIDEN.
tends to have melodic vocals

Thrash tends to be more:
dissonant, crunchy
tends to have raspier vocals

I think of "Spreading the Disease" and "Fistful of Metal" as speed metal albums and "Among the Living" as a thrash metal album.

This is my understanding too but the line is so blurry with bands that it's impossible to tell in many situations. Further, speed metal as a term is rarely used anymore so its definition is murky.

I always thought that speed was more traditional and had more first generation influences, whilst thrash was more punk/hardcore oriented.

RIOT: not a speed metal band, but thundersteel is the very definition of speed IMO

Nico wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

Deliverance use to make a point to say in interviews that they weren't a thrash metal band, but a speed metal band. I suppose the difference being a thin line that mostly has to do with the vocals approach.

I'm really surprised to hear that, because they really have that thrash metal "crunch" in their sound. Maybe I need to listen to Deliverance more often. Speed metal and thrash metal tend to mix a lot, though, and while a lot of bands fall into both categories (like Anthrax, as previously mentioned), I think there are still lots of bands that you can recognize as pure speed metal (Exciter, Znowhite on their two EPs, etc.) or as pure thrash metal (Slayer, Kreator, etc.)

Krokus - Warrant and Vectom rule supreme!!

TOTALLY! There are pure speed metal bands, pure thrash metal bands ... and a hybrid.

Deliverance is a hybrid, which is why some call them speed, some call them thrash! They are both.

TheDoctor'sScarf wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

I still don't know the difference between speed metal and thrash.

Speed metal tends to be more:
melodic, consonant. Sometimes almost like a sped up IRON MAIDEN.
tends to have melodic vocals

Thrash tends to be more:
dissonant, crunchy
tends to have raspier vocals

I think of "Spreading the Disease" and "Fistful of Metal" as speed metal albums and "Among the Living" as a thrash metal album.

This is my understanding too but the line is so blurry with bands that it's impossible to tell in many situations. Further, speed metal as a term is rarely used anymore so its definition is murky.

I always thought that speed was more traditional and had more first generation influences, whilst thrash was more punk/hardcore oriented.

This is true too.

Gilbert wrote:

RIOT: not a speed metal band, but thundersteel is the very definition of speed IMO

EXACTLY!!! Earlier Riot was more trad metal, whereas they kicked it into speed metal drive here! Judas Priest did something similar with "Painkiller". After "Ram It Down", they went into 'overdrive' and kicked it up to speed!