It keeps the clean, high singing and tuneful guitar leads of traditional heavy metal but plays them at a much quicker pace. It appeared in the late 1970s and early 1980s, growing out of British heavy metal, with Motörhead as a key influence. Thrash metal took its speed and made it harsher, while power metal kept its melody.
Artists it is known for: Motörhead, Exciter, Agent Steel.
About 2,300 of 83,000 Trackify listeners with public profiles have speed metal among their top artists of the last four weeks. Rounded; updated 13 November 2026.
Speed Metal artists
Megadeth
Slayer
Sepultura
Judas Priest
Motörhead
Anthrax
Bathory
Testament
Suicidal Tendencies
VenomThe speed metal artists most Trackify listeners have in their top fifty. Each opens on Spotify.
Sources
The definition is written for this site from open sources, and was checked against them on 13 November 2026.