Unchained ('79 - '86)
The foundation of the band reaches back to 1979 when bassist Chris Pawlak formed the first "heavy-band". The name SPEED LIMIT appeared for the first time around 1980 (taken from Bon Scott's lyrics to "Highway to Hell" from the then latest AC/DC record).
In 1984 the bands AMPERE - guitarist and songwriter Chris Angerer and singer Hansi Huthmann - and SPEED LIMIT allied their forces. They chose the name SPEED LIMIT for its better sound. The founding members consider this as the real birth of SPEED LIMIT. The line-up of those days, which has been completed with guitarist Jocky Brunner and drummer Andy Rethmaier, managed to collect a reasonable amount of fans and SPEED LIMIT gigs turned out to be a meeting point for the upcoming Hard Rock and Metal scene of the mid80ies in Salzburg. Encouraged by the positive feedback the band had gathered from the rest of Austria and the nearby Bavaria they dared to do the next big step: a self-financed longplay record, an uncommon enterprise for a newcomer band in those days. They were proven right. In 1986 they released "Unchained" - a milestone in the Austrian Rock history - which is till now a rare collector's item in the Melodic Metal scene worldwide.

The Prophecy ('87 - '90)
The release of the longplay debut "Unchained" had its consequences. The gig list became longer. Especially in the rest of Austria, Bavaria and mostly Vienna, the stages became bigger (first gig in Vienna at Fritz - the venue that was later renamed Rockhouse and then turned into Planet Music).
Soon they entered the strong network around the Rockhouse Vienna, which finally led to a promising deal with Breaking Records. Shortly afterwards singer Hansi Huthmann left and the band recruited Bavarian singer Steven Hogger (exCANNON), a shouter who could fill those big shoes. This was soon followed by the replacement of guitarist Jocky Brunner by Hell Lennart, a young and enormously talented shredder.
In 1988 SPEED LIMIT embarked on the next adventure. The album "The Prophecy" - produced by Peter W. Kevin at Horus-Sound Studio - delivered the final breakthrough in Austria. Even Germany paid attention to some extent caused by strong promotion activity (video airplay, TV appearances, tracks on compilations from Canada to Japan) supporting the release of the album, including a premium videoclip for "Lady" and a concert tour through Austria, Hungary and Italy.
During this period the band had to part with Hell Lennart (later BELPHEGOR) but Joe Eder (exTORSO) could fill the vacuum perfectly. They immediately jumped into the preproduction for a follow-up album, which was to be recorded in Vienna. As the recordings didn't come to an end, SPEED LIMIT interrupted studio work time and again hit live stages (with U.D.O., MANIAC, CHROMING ROSE, etc.). After having finished the recording and mixing, the date for the release was postponed several times and finally canceled by the record company without suitable reasons. In this unsatisfying situation singer Steven Hogger quit the band. The album has never been released.

Easy Come Easy Go ('91 - '94)
Soon the band had reassembled, recruiting singer Chris T. Ebert, and armed with unbroken motivation they the stage again (supporting NAZARETH, URIAH HEEP, GIRLSCHOOL, etc.) before they pulled all strings to finally have a new album out.
That happened in 1992. This time Peter Wehrhan (exU8) and Peter W. Kevin took over responsibility for producing and recording. The band entered Kick-Sound Studio in Salzburg and didn't until the probably most versatile album of SPEED LIMIT - "Perfect Inspiration" - was ready to be released. Astonishingly the interest in SPEED LIMIT hadn't lost its strength after four years without a new publication. Again TV appearances, Radio interviews, airplay and intensive live activity (Germany, Austria, Italy) followed the album release.
It didn't take long until the line-up "merry-go-round" started to turn again. This time it was the drummer's seat that was passed to Kurt Rumpf (exU8) after Andy Rethmaier left. But it didn't last long, and then Fred Forester (BOGGIE STUFF) came on board.
In the meantime SPEED LIMIT had finished a highly successful "unplugged"-tour, that was also recorded (again an album that rests in the archives). But as the 90ies weren't the high time for Heavy Metal it was no wonder that it got quieter for SPEED LIMIT, the group that had been called "the loudest band of Salzburg" not long ago. November 1994 saw the last concert of SPEED LIMIT in the then new Rockhouse Salzburg.

Reunion - Lost & Found (2008)
On April 12, 2008, SPEED LIMIT was for the first time since 1994 together on stage again. The band was obviously surprised by an audience of 1200 who welcomed them back immensely when they played support for Scottish legends NAZARETH. After about 30 minutes it was clear for everybody that the fire was still burning and that there were some more fireworks ready to be launched. The re-established Austrorockfestival in Klagenfurt in the same year saw SPEED LIMIT co-headlining and taking the venue by storm. This was soon followed by a very well received reunion show at the Rockhouse Salzburg and two supporting performances for British Hard Rock legends URIAH HEEP at Vienna and at Burghausen.
More live gigs followed in 2009, each and every with an enthusiastic audience celebrating the return of an Austrian legend. Soon SPEED LIMIT was deep into the preproduction of a new album. In January 2010 the "Checker's Telegraph - The Official Speed Limit Fanzine" was launched. In April 2010 the first track of the upcoming album - "Too Old To Die Young" - was released in advance and now fans around Europe are waiting with baited breath for the publication of the first SPEED LIMIT longplayer in more than a decade.

Source : www.speedlimitweb.com