Fast as a Shark
Encyclopedia
"Fast as a Shark" is a well-known song by the German
heavy metal
band Accept
from their 1982 album Restless and Wild.
Its blazingly fast double bass drumming is recognized today as reaching a new level in the development of the subgenre of speed
and thrash metal
. The intro to the track is a snippet from a crackly old children's recording of a traditional German tune titled "Ein Heller und ein Batzen" (A Farthing and a Penny). The band thought it would make a humorous contrast with their heavy metal sound, and the fact that a young Dieter Dierks
(in whose studio the album was recorded) was singing on the recording made it even more of an inside joke. The band soon found themselves in an unintended controversy, however: even though the song dated from 1830http://ingeb.org/Lieder/EinHelle.html, it was a popular marching song
during the Nazi era
and still held that connotation for many listeners, a fact the band was unaware of at the time. "So out of a funny little idea we created somewhat of a monster," Wolf Hoffmann recalls.http://web.archive.org/web/20020208104455/wolfhoffmann.com/html/faq.html
Fast as a Shark was ranked #33 in Martin Popoff's book The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs Of All Time
.
The song has been covered by Witchery
, Helloween
, Holy Grail and Rage
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Accept
Accept
Accept is a German heavy metal band from the town of Solingen, originally assembled by former vocalist Udo Dirkschneider, guitarist Wolf Hoffmann and bassist Peter Baltes. Their beginnings can be traced back to the late 1960s...
from their 1982 album Restless and Wild.
Its blazingly fast double bass drumming is recognized today as reaching a new level in the development of the subgenre of speed
Speed metal
Speed metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from NWOBHM and hardcore punk roots. It is described by Allmusic as "extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding" music....
and thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
. The intro to the track is a snippet from a crackly old children's recording of a traditional German tune titled "Ein Heller und ein Batzen" (A Farthing and a Penny). The band thought it would make a humorous contrast with their heavy metal sound, and the fact that a young Dieter Dierks
Dieter Dierks
Dieter Dierks is a German record producer mostly known for his collaboration with the rock band Scorpions.- Youth :...
(in whose studio the album was recorded) was singing on the recording made it even more of an inside joke. The band soon found themselves in an unintended controversy, however: even though the song dated from 1830http://ingeb.org/Lieder/EinHelle.html, it was a popular marching song
March (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
during the Nazi era
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and still held that connotation for many listeners, a fact the band was unaware of at the time. "So out of a funny little idea we created somewhat of a monster," Wolf Hoffmann recalls.http://web.archive.org/web/20020208104455/wolfhoffmann.com/html/faq.html
Fast as a Shark was ranked #33 in Martin Popoff's book The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs Of All Time
The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs Of All Time
The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time is a book by Martin Popoff who is the editor in chief and writer of the Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles magazine as well as the senior editor of bravewords.com...
.
The song has been covered by Witchery
Witchery
Witchery is a Swedish thrash/speed metal band, formed by former members of Satanic Slaughter in 1997. The current lineup consists of vocalist Emperor Magus Caligula , ex-Devian), guitarists Patrik Jensen and Rickard "Richard Corpse" Rimfält, bassist Sharlee D'Angelo, and drummer Martin Axenrot...
, Helloween
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
, Holy Grail and Rage
Rage (band)
Rage are a German heavy metal band, formed in 1984. They were part of the German heavy/speed/power metal scene to emerge in the early to mid 1980s, along with bands such as Helloween, Running Wild and Blind Guardian.-Background:...
.
In popular culture
- The song is featured in the ItalianItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
horrorHorror filmHorror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
movie DèmoniDemoniDèmoni is a 1985 Italian horror film directed by Lamberto Bava and produced by Dario Argento. The screenplay was written by Bava, Argento, Franco Ferrini, and Dardano Sacchetti, from a story by Sacchetti...
. - The song is featured in an episode of the SwedishSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
sitcom Hjälp!Hjälp!Hjälp! is a Swedish situation comedy television series. It revolves around a professional therapist, Jeanette Placzycks, played by Stina Ekblad. She treats several patients in need of urgent help, hence the name of the series...
(Help!). - The song is featured in the action/adventure video game Brütal LegendBrütal LegendBrütal Legend is an action-adventure/real-time strategy game created by Double Fine Productions and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released during October 2009 in North America and Europe...
.