Your way in
Speed metal 1981
NWOBHM with the throttle down, but the vocals still melodic. The missing link between heavy metal and thrash.
- Heaviness
- 7
- Speed
- 9
- Melody
- 8
- Where from
- Germany / USA
- Tempo
- 180-230 bpm
- Song length
- 3.5-5 min
- Written about
- Speed itself, Metal as a subject, Nuclear anxiety, Defiance
- Vocals
- Sung
Why this one
| You said | Speed metal | Match | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singing When someone is singing, what should come out? | clean | 100% | ×3 |
| As heavy as it gets How much weight do you want behind it? | 7 out of 10 | 70% | ×2 |
| As fast as anyone can play What pace? | 9 out of 10 | 90% | ×2 |
| Long. Let it go somewhere. How long should a song be? | up to 5 min | 25% | ×1 |
| Weighted mean | 81% | ||
Ranked over all 150 genres in the encyclopedia, on the 4 answers you gave, weighted vocals 3, heaviness 2, pace 2, length 1 out of 8. Speed metal ties with the next, and won on being the broader of the two. Where two genres score the same the broader one wins, because a genre with subgenres under it is somewhere to carry on from and a leaf is a full stop.
Five records, in this order
- 1The one to put on first
Motörhead, Motörhead 1977
Motörhead - Ace of Spades. Thirty-five minutes, constant speed, zero compromise.
- 2Then
- 3Then
- 4Then
- 5Then
The first is Speed metal's own entry point. After it come Speed metal's essential records in the order the encyclopedia lists them. Every one of these has a page here with links out to somewhere it can be played.
If that is not it
-
Acid rock 75%
The heavy end of psychedelia: raw distortion and endless jams. Blue Cheer is often named the first genuinely heavy band.
On the other branch of the tree entirely, and 5 steps from Speed metal.
The way into Acid rock -
Hard rock 73%
Louder volume, thicker riffs, vocals pushed to the edge. Heavy metal splits off from it, but hard rock stays closer to the blues and to the chorus.
On the other branch of the tree entirely, and 5 steps from Speed metal.
The way into Hard rock
Not simply the second and third of the ranking: those are almost always near neighbours of the first, which is three names for one suggestion. An alternate has to sit at least 4 steps through the tree from the headline and from the other alternate, which is the same floor the "sounds like this, but isn't" panel uses.
What your answers ruled out
- Singing put 54 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Black metal, Death metal, Post-hardcore. Worth 3 of 8.
- As heavy as it gets put 13 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Rock and roll, Folk rock, Country rock. Worth 2 of 8.
- As fast as anyone can play put 4 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Doom metal, Drone metal, Funeral doom. Worth 2 of 8.
- Long. Let it go somewhere. put 40 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Punk rock, Hardcore punk, Rock and roll. Worth 1 of 8.
Counted as genres scoring 20% or less on that answer alone. A recommendation that only shows what it chose is hiding half of what it did.