FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Music

Splitting Skulls and Breaking Chains: Meet the Vicious New Breed of Speed Metal Demons

SPEED METAL KILLS!

Photo by Mikko Pylkkö / courtesy of Ranger

Speed metal is a small, frequently misunderstood genre that occupies weird fringes within the metal world, despite the fact that there numerous bands across the world who swear by it. Often categorized by fans and journalists as thrash or New Wave Of British Heavy Metal revivalists, bands that play this style often worship obscure 80s acts like Iron Angel, Gotham City, Messiah Force, Deaf Dealer, and Scanner, and utilize an blazing pace alongside duelling guitars and a sung, decipherable vocal style that is generally gruff and rife with maniacal cackles. Lyrical content is frequently laden with metal in-jokes, references to battles with demons and Satan, and odes to oblivion. Their attitude reads like a modern-day Manowar's—wimps and posers can leave the hall!

Advertisement

Though some argue that speed metal hardly needs differentiation from thrash, there are pronounced differences between the two. Speed metal maniacs cleaner tones than their more extreme brethren, along with dueling guitar melodies and virtuoso soloing. It's a technically precise genre that has continued since its double-time origins in Motörhead (think Overkill, and Philthy Taylor's drums, and that explosive instrumental interplay) and late-'0s era Judas Priest. Soon, Diamond Head, Iron Maiden, and Accept (circa "Fast as a Shark," naturally) were furthering the cause, and the sound was truly crystallized by Canada's Exciter.

Not only did the Ottawa trio dub themselves after a song that appears on Priest's 1978 classic Stained Class, their whole style was culled from the track. "Exciter" is incessant and ferocious, propelled by Rob Halford's shrieks, Les Binks machine gun double kicks, and Glenn Tipton's squealing solo. Exciter took this style and ran with it, releasing three full-lengths in a row that personified velocity, attitude, ferocity, and technical proficiency.

Today, bands worldwide proudly play speed metal while flying the "speed metal swirl" made famous by the legendary Canadian 80s heavy metal label Banzai Records. Some mix in elements of black metal and death metal, and given the tenuous similarities, most also qualify their genre with thrash and traditional metal. To find out what that sounds like, here are ten of our favorite new speed metal bands from across the globe.

Advertisement

Armory – Gothenburg, Sweden

Photo courtesy of Armory

While the artwork on their sold out four-track cassette with its cable car en route to hell comes roaring out of left field, the music inside is direct and incessant. Armory makes straightforward speed metal, complete with powerful whooping vocals that focus lyrically on space, aliens, war, and death, set to a soundtrack of jackhammer snare beats and winding, massive dueling solos. More bands should really be sampling long-forgotten sci-fi films like these guys do on "Alien Invasion"(throwing it way back to 1959's

Invisible Invaders

). Someone sign them already.

Ranger – Helsinki, Finland

Photo courtesy of Ranger

Ranger is one of the few bands on this list that's attracted (relatively) major label interest, and it's because A. they have aptly merged an unhinged intensity with blistering proficiency, and B. labels are starting to notice that speed metal is a thing (just look at where most of the below bands have ended up, along with Enforcer being picked up by Nuclear Blast). After forming in Helsinki in 2009, Ranger has gone on to release numerous singles and demos, finally culminating in the March 2015 full length Where Evil Dwells. The tin-can snare and those demonic banshee cackles makes this an essential fist-pumping, pre-85-worshipping, skull-splitting assault on the senses.

Demona – Chile/ Quebec, Canada

Photo by Danielle Griscti / courtesy of Demona

Advertisement

It's easy to see why Noisey has aready shown plenty of love for Chilean expat Demona; guitarist, vocalist and band mastermind Tanza Speed lives, breathes, and bleeds the band that she's anchored since she was a teenager in Valparaíso. Only recently has the rest of world caught on, granting her a deal with Hells Headbangers, who released her EP 2015 on August 7th. Back in 2011, she was still DIY: her wicked three-way split Speed Metal Kills (featuring Calgary, Canada speed metal denizens Gatekrashör and now-defunct Vancouver thrash act Excavator) practically leapt out of the cassette holder. Financed and released by Albert "Nun Fucker" Power, the guitarist and vocalist for Excavator, the three-way split is fuzzy and wanton, chock full of speed, sex, and violence. Adorned with a couple on a motorcycle wielding a blood spraying chainsaw, the six tracks within have shrieking solos, shrill cries, and metal worship aplenty.

Baphomet's Blood – San Benedetto del Tronto (Ascoli Piceno), Marche, Italy

Photo courtesy of Baphomet's Blood

Their sound and aesthetic can be traced directly to Italian speedfreaks Bulldozer; everything they press to wax (they hate CDs, so don't ask) sells out. Baphomet's Blood is all about "Making Noise And Drinking Beer," hailing Satan and recording obscure covers. Although their last recorded music came out via a three-tape set released by tastemakers Iron Bonehead in 2012, they recently announced on their Facebook page that their new album will be released soon, featuring sure-to-be-hits like as "In Satan We Trust" and "Whiskey Rocker." Bang for the devil!

Advertisement

Chainbreaker – Toronto, Ontario

Photo by Nic Pouliot / courtesy of Chainbreaker

Their commanding performance at 2014's Wings of Metal Festival made it abundantly clear that Chainbreaker love three bands over all: Motörhead, Venom, and Exciter. A bit dirtier and more punk'n'roll than many of the bands on this list, the Toronto act still utilizes the customary squealing solos and speed metal gallop, particularly on their eponymous song "Chainbreaker." Their Constant Graving tape is still available, get on it!

Infiltrator – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Photo by Jessica McKay / courtesy of Infiltrator

Infiltrator have only recorded a total of six songs so far (one of which is a Bathory cover) but they've already been signed to Dark Descent's sublabel Unspeakable Axe Records. The Philly trio is sworn to poser-killing speed metal; their guitarist and vocalist Steve Jansson barks and howls, shreds and squeals, and the guy is no slouch behind an axe, either; you might recognize his name from Asphyx-meets-Bolt Thrower death metallers TrenchRot, or from the epic doom band Crypt Sermon, or from masterful grindcore act Unrest. His bandmates's resumes hardly pale in comparison: Infernal Stronghold drummer Grzesiek Czapla has also played for Absu, and is a multi-instrumentalist in bassist Chris Grigg's black metal project Woe (Grigg is also in Unrest, and has played live with New Jersey hate-mongers Krieg).

Advertisement

Evil Invaders – Leopoldsburg, Limburg, Belgium

Photo courtesy of Evil Invaders

Despite their young age, bright, striking thrash metal-esque album art, and and leather jackets (instead of denim vests), Belgium's Evil Invaders fly the old-school banner of speed metal. This high-pitched singing (think Agent Steel), Razor-worshipping (their name

must

have been lifted from Razor's 1985 album of the same name) quartet is hot off the release of their full-length debut

Pulses of Pleasure

, released via Napalm Records. They're fast and rude—worship the true!

Encyrcle – Odense, Denmark

Photo courtesy of Unspeakable Axe

Encyrcle is one of the few new bands out there with a sound completely their own, one that they've dubbed "Nocturnal Speed Metal." There is no doubt that mediocre speed metal bands exist and are multiplying at an alarming speed, but this Denmark group has merged sounds from power metal, death, thrash, crust, and speed metal to concoct a revelation of a self-titled debut likely to top at least a few "best of 2015" lists. With a masterful vocal approach delivered overtop chanting gang vocals, ferociously paced instrumentation, and an aura of omnipresent gloom, the whole package is simply excellent.

Diabolic Night – North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Photo courtesy of Diabolic Night

Although this list is hardly organized, the heavier stuff was certainly saved for last. Diabolic Night definitely falls in that category, a blackened speed metal band with only a demo and EP to their name. Their music has been released via the newly minted Mortal Rite Records; it's got Tom G. Warrior-approved "OUGHS" alongside the raging ferocity that speed metal demands. Their upcoming seven-inch single dubbed "Infernal Power" is out soon, and aptly demonstrates that Diabolic Night is part of Satan's force.

Advertisement

Trench Hell – New South Wales, Australia

Photo courtesy of Trench Hell

Things have been awfully quiet on the Trench Hell front for quite some time, but the Australian menace is evidently at work on their full-length debut. Active since 2004, the slow-burning duo released their essential Southern Cross Ripper EP back in 2008 via Hells Headbangers, but further progress has perhaps been impeded by guitarist, bassist, and vocalist Hexx's penchant for joining other bands live or in the studio (see: Gospel of the Horns, Nocturnal Graves, Carbon, Toxic Holocaust). Despite their slim discography, everything they release is raw and hideous, merging the benchmarks of black metal with speed and thrash. This means subterranean production to compliment their serpentine riffs and vicious percussion, alongside vocals that come straight from the Venom and Hellhammer camp. Trench Hell is truly speed metal from Hades.

Sarah is not on Twitter, but you can drool over her vinyl collection on Instagram.