"Fast as a Shark" is a song by German
heavy metal band
Accept and a single from their 1982 album ''
Restless and Wild''.
Its fast
double bass drumming is recognized today as reaching a new level in the development of the subgenre of
speed and
power 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
"Ein Heller und ein Batzen" is a German folk song. Written b Albert von Schlippenbachin 1830 as a drinking song, it later became a popular marching song in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War.
Controversy
"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 1830, it was a popular
marching song during the
Nazi era
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
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.
"Fast as a Shark" was ranked number 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,
Rage
Rage may refer to:
* Rage (emotion), an intense form of anger
Games
* Rage (collectible card game), a collectible card game
* Rage (trick-taking card game), a commercial variant of the card game Oh Hell
* ''Rage'' (video game), a 2011 first-per ...
and
Altar.
Track listing
In popular culture
*The song is featured in the Italian horror film ''
Dèmoni''.
*The song is featured in an episode of the Swedish sitcom ''
Hjälp!'' (''Help!'').
*The song is featured in the action video game ''
Brütal Legend''.
*The song is featured in the drama film ''
People Like Us''.
*The song is featured in the music biopic ''
Lords of Chaos''.
Personnel
*
Udo Dirkschneider – vocals
*
Wolf Hoffmann – guitar
*
Herman Frank – guitar
*
Peter Baltes – bass guitar
*
Stefan Kaufmann – drums
References
*
{{authority control
Accept (band) songs
1982 songs
1982 singles
Speed metal songs