Fast as a Shark

This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Fast as a Shark" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2018)

"Fast as a Shark"
Single by Accept
from the album Restless and Wild
B-side	"Get Ready"
Released	November 1982 (1982-11)
Recorded	1982
Genre	Speed metal[1]
Length	3:49
Label	Metronome Music
Songwriter(s)	Peter Baltes, Udo Dirkschneider, Wolf Hoffmann, Stefan Kaufmann
Accept singles chronology
"Starlight" (1981) "Fast as a Shark" (1982) "Restless and Wild" (1982)

"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" ("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 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 and Altar.^{[citation needed]}