Speed/Thrash Metal
Let me tell you a little story about speed metal.
When I was in college, my best friend and I took a road trip through the American Southwest. It was the middle of summer and, even though we were driving at night, it was still almost a hundred degrees outside. My car's AC was out and even though the air outside didn't keep us any cooler, the breeze was nice. So we had both our windows rolls down and we were driving through these endless red clay vistas when my friend dug out Metallica's ''Master of Puppets'' CD from my glove box. We popped it in and drove through the night with Metallica pouring out of the windows of my car, screaming the lyrics at the top of our lungs.
Magic.
Death or Glory, It's the Same Old Story
Speed metal, and it's immediate descendant thrash metal, became the foundation for extreme metal music. Speed metal was one of the first truly international heavy metal sub-genres, growing out of the new wave of British heavy metal in the 70s. It sped up the tempo and the guitar licks became much more challenging and technically skilled. Arguably the genre's founding group was the British band Motorhead. The band's legendary leader Lemmy rocked his bass harder than most lead guitarists and the music became faster and required viciously quick picking techniques for aspiring speed metal guitarists. Future thrash bands bands stripped the traditional elements of the music, making the sound leaner yet more muscular. As speed metal began to evolve, the biggest thrash metal acts began to form. Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer all came from the fertile Southern California rock scene.
Speed and thrash metal have become one of the most popular and accessible sub-genres of heavy metal music. Pretty much everyone has owned at least one Metallica album in their life and many people discover a deeper interest in heavy metal after being exposed to the titans of the scene. Thrash metal is still going strong, and great introductions to the scene include classic bands like Pantera, Anthrax, Megadeth, Exodus, Sodom, Mortification, Kreator, Sepulveda, and a zillion others. Here's some good places to get started:
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