When heavy metal virtually drowned in its own bloated sense of self-importance, musicians (most notably in the San Francisco Bay Area) began mixing sped-up hardcore punk into prog-influenced heavy metal. Their major innovation was the use of muted strumming to produce a percussive, machinelike sound, which initially alienated audiences. Its riffs used chords like notes, and let bands blast out melodies hidden by the explosive effect of distortion, creating like industrial music a sense of the human being overwhelmed by life around them. Lyrical content echoed this idea through mixing teenage angst and fears about nuclear war, ecocide, authoritarian government and domination by machines. Although these bands still sang without distorted vocals, many, like Metallica's James Hetfield and Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, mixed surly growls in with their masculine vocals, forming a cynical and self-confident sound that listeners liked in the ambiguous Cold War era. Speed metal was also one of the first metal subgenres where the concept of "selling out" became a dirty word, because to a speed metal band, that meant letting style and technique be assimilated by radio-friendly heavy metal and, in those days of major label dominance, toning down the more extreme content. For many years, speed metal held out, proud of its independence and the fan loyalty that came with it. By the end of the 1980s, however, radio caught up with speed metal, and it was possible to hear Metallica's "One" on pop radio.

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