x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal is the ultimate journey into the heart of heavy music, hosted by Metal Blade Records’ founder, Brian Slagel. Each week, Brian dives into one of his personally curated tracks from his list of the heaviest songs in metal and hard rock, exploring the music that shaped a genre. With special guest musicians—some who wrote and recorded these iconic songs and others who found inspiration in them—the show unearths the stories behind each track. Whether you’re a lifelong

music music commentary

All Episodes

54:59

Soungarden - "Rusty Cage"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/08/31

Soundgarden - "Rusty Cage"From the album "Badmotorfinger" (Released October 8, 1981) Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel talks about Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" from their breakthrough album "Badmotorfinger". He's joined by the producer of that album, Terry Date, and then he chats with comedian Dean Delray whose passion for the band runs deep. As always, author Martin Popoff checks in with facts, figures and opinions. For the complete unedited video version of the episode, go to our YouTube

en

53:05

Queensryche - "Eyes of a Stranger"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/08/24

Queensryche - "Eyes of a Stranger" From "Operation: Mindcrime" (Released May 3, 1988) Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel talks to musician Jacob Bunton about the great Queensryche song "Eyes of a Stranger" from their album "Operation: Mindcrime". He also discusses the production of the album with producer Jay Ruston and author Martin Popoff provides facts, figures and opinions as always. Watch the full unedited video version of the interview on our YouTube

en

60:15

Rush - "The Spirit of Radio"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/08/17

Rush - "The Spirit of Radio" From the Album "Permanent Waves" Released January 14, 1980 Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel talks about the importance of Rush's "The Spirit of Radio" with legendary sports radio and television host JT The Brick. They also discuss how JT has seen Rush 54 times (so far), whether or not the Las Vegas Raiders will be any good over the next few seasons, JT winning the first-ever Smack-Off on The Jim Rome Show and much more! Brian also talks about the production

en

55:35

Def Leppard - "Let It Go"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/08/10

Def Leppard - "Let It Go"Release Date - July 6, 1981 Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel is joined by Blake Ibanez of Power Trip and Fugitive to discuss Def Leppard's "Let It Go" off of their second album "High N' Dry". Jay Ruston talks about the production on that record and author Martin Popoff brings his usual mixture of facts, figures and opinions. For the complete, unedited video version of the Blake Ibanez interview, check out our YouTube Channel:

en

50:14

Motley Crue - "Livewire"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/08/03

Motley Crue - "Livewire"From the album Too Fast For Love (originally released on Leathur Records in November 10, 1981 and again on Elektra Records August 20, 1982) Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel talks to the producer of this show Christian Bladt about the first Motley Crue song on their first record, "Livewire" from 1981's "Too Fast for Love". They discuss the history of the band and the scene they came out of, following the evolution of what some people call "hair metal". Jay Ruston

en

40:15

Black Sabbath - "Heaven and Hell"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/07/27

Black Sabbath - "Heaven and Hell" From the album of the same name, released April 25, 1980 Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel is joined by the legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bassist and lyricist for Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler. They discuss the song "Heaven and Hell", the pivotal moment in Sabbath's history where Ronnie James Dio joined the band, and they also discuss the follow-up album "Mob Rules". Brian also talks about the production of the song with Mark Lewis, who talks about

en

57:25

Iron Maiden - "Powerslave"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/07/20

Iron Maiden - "Powerlsave" from the album of the same name Released in Europe September 3, 1984 and in the US September 14, 1984 Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel talks to Gabriela Gun of Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Ghost about "Powerslave", the amazing title track of the equally incredible album of the same name. Brian also talks about the production with Jay Ruston and author Martin Popoff checks in with he customary facts, figures, information and opinion. Watch the complete

en

53:27

Gojira - "The Heaviest Matter of the Universe"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/07/13

Gojira - "The Heaviest Matter of the Universe" From the album "From Mars to Sirius" RELEASED September 27, 2005 Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel is joined by Steve Carey from the band Senses Fail to discuss Gojira's "Heaviest Matter of the Universe". Ryan Williams also checks in to talk about the production on the song, and author Martin Popoff provides even more information than usual about this song and the band Gojira. Watch the complete, unedited video version of the

en

54:04

Metallica - "Orion"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/07/06

Metallica - "Orion" released March 3,1986 from the album "Master of Puppets" Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel talks to filmmaker Sam Dunn about Metallica's epic instrumental, "Orion". They also discuss Slayer, Iron Maiden and some of the films he's made through his company Banger Films. Jay Ruston also discusses the production on "Orion" and author Martin Popoff provides his usual combination of facts, information and opinon. Check out the unedited video version of the Sam Dunn

en

62:31

AC/DC - "Hells Bells"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/06/29

AC/DC - "Hells Bells" From the album "Back In Black" Released Halloween 1980 Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel welcomes back to the show Adam Rank from NFL Network and The Jim Rome Show to discuss the first track on AC/DC's "Back in Black" album, "Hells Bells". He also discusses the production of the song with Metal Blade's Ryan Williams. There's also the usual background, facts and opinions from author Martin Popoff. Watch the complete, unedited interview on our YouTube

en

56:15

Black Sabbath - "Symptom of the Universe"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/06/22

Black Sabbath - "Symptom of the Universe" From the Album "Sabatoge", released July 28, 1975 Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel is joined by actor-comedian Brian Posehn to talk about Black Sabbath's "Symptom of the Universe", Brian's favorite Sabbath song from his Sabbath album. We also get the usual background, facts, figures and opinions from author Martin Popoff, who says that this is also his favorite Black Sabbath song. Plus, a conversation on the production of the song and the record

en

47:15

Slayer - "South of Heaven"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/06/15

Slayer "South of Heaven" from the album of the same name. RELEASED : July 5, 1988 Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel talks about the title track from Slayer's 1988 album "South of Heaven" with Chris Kael of Five Finger Death Punch who also co-hosts the "Beardo and Weirdo" podcast with comedian Craig Gass. Brian also discusses the production on this song with Mark Lewis, and author Martin Popoff checks in with his usual mixture of history, facts, figures and opinion. For the complete,

en

50:25

Iron Maiden - "Number of the Beast"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/06/08

Iron Maiden - "Number of the Beast" from the album of the same nameReleased March 22, 1982 Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel talks to Queensryche lead singer Todd La Torre about Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast". Producer Jay Ruston returns to discuss the production on the song, and author Martin Popoff offers up some unique opinions while providing facts and figures about the song. For the complete, unedited video version of the Todd La Torre interview, where you will see the many

en

54:12

Metallica - "Creeping Death"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/06/01

Metallica - "Creeping Death" From the album "Ride the Lightning" Released November 23, 1984 In this episode, Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel is joined by Mike Hamer of the Violent Gentlemen clothing line to discuss Metallica's "Creeping Death". Brian also discusses the production of Metallica's "Creeping Death" with Metal Blade's Ryan Williams. As always, author Martin Popoff provides historical context, facts and his expert opinions about Metallica's "Creeping Death" The

en

54:30

Queensryche - "Roads To Madness"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/05/25

Queensryche - "Roads to Madness"RELEASED September 7, 1984 on the album "The Warning" Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel discusses the final track on Queensryche's full-length debut, The Warning: "Roads to Madness". He talks to producer Zeuss, who has produced the last three Queensryche albums and then Adam Wodon of CollegeHockey.Com who is a huge fan of the band. As always, Martin Popoff checks in with some historical facts and and analysis. For the COMPLETE, UNEDITED video version of

en

54:37

Jimi Hendrix - "All Along The Watchtower"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/05/18

Jimi Hendrix - "All Along The Watchtover" First released as a single September 21, 1968 and was later featured on the Electric Ladyland album, released in October 16, 1968. (Originally recorded by Bob Dyland and released on the "John Wesley Harding" album December 27, 1967. In this episode, Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel is joined by guitarist Stoney Curtis talk about the impact of Jimi Hendrix by focusing on his cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower". Brian also discusses the

en

49:15

Black Sabbath - "Into The Void"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/05/11

Black Sabbath - "Into The Void"Release Date July 21, 1971 Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel talks about the importance of the Black Sabbath song "Into The Void" with singer John Corabi (who has worked with Motley Crue, Ratt, The Dead Daisies among many others). John also talks about the underappreciated impact of Grand Funk Railroad and how he was able to see the original Sabbath perform live in the 70's and some of the other amazing shows he was able to see growing up in

en

56:35

Fates Warning - "A Pleasant Shade of Gray"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/05/04

Fates Warning - "A Pleasant Shade of Gray"Released April 22, 1997 Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel talks to Fates Warning singer Ray Alder about their 1997 album "A Pleasant Shade of Gray": an entire album made up of one song. He also talks about the production of the record with Bill Metoyer, who did some engineering on the album. As always, author Martin Popoff provides some historical significance and impact of the song. You can watch video of the entire unedited version of the

en

58:18

Kiss - "Love Gun"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/04/27

Kiss - "Love Gun" Released June 30, 1977 Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel discussed the title track from the 1977 Kiss album "Love Gun". First up, he hears from author Martin Popoff about the historical significance and impact of the song. Then, this show's producer Christian Bladt discusses more of the background and production of the song. Finally, the co-host of Morning Skate Scott Laughlin talks about his Kiss fandom, looks ahead to the NHL Playoffs and discusses some of the new music

en

56:27

UFO - "Let It Roll"

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal ·

2026/04/20

UFO - "Let It Roll"The original studio version of UFO's "Let It Roll" was released on the album Force It on July 1, 1975. The popular live version from the album Strangers in the Night was released on January 16, 1979 Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel talks about UFO's "Let It Roll" with renowned producer and founder of Shrapnel Records, Mike Varney. Jay Ruston discusses the production with Brian and, as always, we check in with author Martin Popoff for some historical and musical

en

96 results

Similar Podcasts

UsmanGee Islamic Universe

usmangee-productions

Fairground Sounds

Mechanical Music Radio

Song of the Day

Minnesota Public Radio

Gig Gab - The Working Musician"s Podcast

Dave Hamilton & Friends

100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal

Brian Slagel