SPEED THRILLS

Speed metal (a.k.a. true metal, power metal and thrash metal) is accelerated, pulverizing rock that obliterates the boundary between punk and heavy metal. Imagine an early Black Sabbath album played at 45 rpm, except more dense and bruising.

In recent years, several bands have embraced this subgenre, but probably the most prominent practitioner (along with San Francisco’s Metallica) is England’s Venom, which stormed into Santa Monica Civic Auditorium Friday night. Illuminated by surprisingly glitzy arena-rock lighting, the trio cranked out an evening’s worth of wall-rattling shards of souped-up metal.

In Venom’s hands, speed metal is at its darkest, most potent and brutal extreme. Factor in beefy bassist Cronos’ raspy vocals--which stick out like a sore throat--and you have supremely ugly metal that just doesn’t get any heavier.