Speed Metal

Speed Metal: 52 upcoming festivals, including 20 with tickets on sale.

Speed metal is characterized by its exceptionally fast tempos, aggressive guitar riffs, and powerful drumming, creating an intense and high-energy sound that pushes the boundaries of traditional heavy metal. Emerging in the early 1980s, it developed as heavy metal bands began incorporating faster rhythms, sometimes influenced by hardcore punk, marking a pivotal stylistic evolution. Iconic artists like Motörhead, early Metallica, and Exciter are often cited as key figures in defining the genre. Often considered a precursor to thrash metal, speed metal laid essential groundwork for subsequent extreme metal subgenres.

Parent genreMetal