Speed metal

This was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s in Britain and achieved international attention by the early 1980s.

NWOBHM bands toned down the blues influences of earlier acts, incorporated elements of punk, increased the tempo, and adopted a "tougher" sound, taking a harder approach to their music.

Groups such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Venom, Saxon and Motörhead as well as many lesser-known ones, became part of the canon that influenced American bands that formed in the early eighties.

Some of speed metal's earlier influences include Black Sabbath's "Children of the Grave" and "Symptom of the Universe", Budgie's "Breadfan" and Queen's "Stone Cold Crazy" (the latter two were eventually covered by the thrash metal band Metallica),[5] as well as certain Deep Purple songs such as "Speed King", "Fireball" and "Highway Star".

The way the double bass drum is played in "Fireball"—uptempo "four on the floor"—became a mainstay in many heavy, speed and thrash metal songs in the years that followed.

Black Sabbath are a British heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, and are often cited as one of the grandfathers of the genre.

Some songs, such as 1978's "Exciter", were groundbreaking for their sheer ferocity and speed; few, if any, bands exempting Motörhead played with the same tempo.

[citation needed] Exciter (who took their name from the aforementioned Judas Priest song) is a Canadian speed metal band from Ottawa, Ontario, which was formed in 1978.

To date, the band has released seventeen studio albums, and has been cited as having influenced many notable thrash metal groups, including Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth.

North American bands had a faster, more aggressive sound that would later influence the thrash metal movement.