Fast as a Shark

Album: Restless and Wild (1982)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Was this the first ever Speed Metal song? Accept lead singer Udo Dirkschneider thinks so, as do a legion of other Metal musicians who followed, including Charlie Benante, who got his gig drumming for Anthrax by playing this song in audition.

    While The Scorpions were the most popular German Rock band, Accept was probably the most influential. Led by frontman Udo Dirkschneider, they broke new ground with their blistering tempo. "Stefan Kaufmann [Accept's drummer] came up with just a fast song," Udo told us. "The really funny thing was in the beginning, we said, 'Bah! No, we cannot play songs like this.' But we didn't know that we were exasperating "Speed Metal." So that was completely new." (Here's our full Udo Dirkschneider interview.)
  • Part of a quirky German folk song "Ein Heller und ein Batzen" (English translation: "A Farthing and a Penny") was incorporated into this track, providing quite a contrast of styles. Since the Speed Metal rule book had yet to be written, there was no reason you couldn't incorporate a folk song into it. "Sometimes you have crazy ideas, and in the end it works out very good," Udo told us.

Comments: 2

  • Dan Gillespy from Courtenay Bcthis song helped inspire the thrash metal scene.
  • Lionel Ulloa from Panama, Panama"Fire Down Under" is the third album by New York City (later relocated in Texas) heavy metal band Riot, released in 1981, the title track was written somewhere touring Japan or Middlewest US Continent during 1979 and 1980. So the seminal sound "speed metal" was defined earlier than Accept when they release the Restless & Wild album in 1982. So, easily the term in its formative years can be credited to this outstanding American metal band and sometimes underrated at the same time.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many Songs

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many SongsSong Writing

For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.

Zakk Wylde

Zakk WyldeSongwriter Interviews

When he was playing Ozzfest with Black Label Society, a kid told Zakk he was the best Ozzy guitarist - Zakk had to correct him.

Art Alexakis of Everclear

Art Alexakis of EverclearSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.

John Lee Hooker

John Lee HookerSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.

Tim McIlrath of Rise Against

Tim McIlrath of Rise AgainstSongwriter Interviews

Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath explains the meanings behind some of their biggest songs and names the sci-fi books that have influenced him.

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.