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PODCAST

The History of Heavy Podcast

Michael Huntsman

A show that traces the chronology of extreme, loud and extremely loud music song by song. From The Kinks to Kiss, The Beatles to Black Sabbath, Miles Davis to Motörhead we dive deep into the circumstances, influences and popular culture that made each of these tracks seem so intense and groundbreaking when they were released. Your co-hosts Michael Huntsman and "Big Daddy" Dave Lieberman take you on a journey from the late 50"s to present day that promises to blow your hair back and piss off your

music music history

All Episodes

55:03

EP20: The Heaviest Songs of the 1960's

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/05/20

We dedicated 18 episodes to the heavy songs to the 1960’s and traversed psychedelia, electric blues, proto-punk, acid jazz, hard, garage, art, and occult rock. Now we reevaluate all of them to determine which two songs will rule them all and be crowned the heaviest of the decade. Reccommeded Listening, Watching & Reading Aldous Huxley The Doors of Perception

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45:11

EP19: Coven "Wicked Woman"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/05/13

This late sixties/early seventies Occult Rock band featured a member named Oz Osborne, had a track called “Black Sabbath” that kicks off it’s debut album and is credited with being the first band to ever use the devil horn hand gesture... and they are not called Black Sabbath. In fact, Coven’s debut LP predates Sabbath’s by a year and while not widely acknowledged, their influence stretches well beyond the Birmingham legends. Spotify Playlist

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54:33

EP18: Captain Beefheart "Dachau Blues"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/05/06

It’s time to get weird and you don’t get much weirder than Captain Beefheart. His amalgamation of garage rock, free-jazz, delta blues and avant garde insanity was challenging and strange in the 1960’s and its power hasn’t diluted one bit all these decades later. “Dachau Blues” is from his widely recognized masterpiece Mask Trout Replica and the future sound of PiL, Gang of Four, Sonic Youth and the like can be heard in every note. Add lyrics about an infamous Nazi concentration camp and you have

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52:47

EP17: MC5 "Kick Out the Jams"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/04/29

It’s safe to say that without the MC5 punk rock and all of its adjacent sub genres would sound completely different. They were chaotic, intense, political and heavy in every sense of the word. Nothing about their unedited, unwavering approach was ever delivered lightly. Though their popular musical legacy doesn’t go much further beyond the title track of their debut LP, their impact and influence cannot be overstated. Recommended Listening, Watching & Reading MC3

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46:19

EP16: Led Zeppelin "Dazed and Confused"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/04/22

Led Zeppelin were pretty popular. Though often pigeonholed as a “Hard Rock” band, their music was fairly eclectic, touching on elements of blues, folk and psychedelia. Still, they are mostly remembered as being loud and bombastic and one of the forebears of what would come to be known as Heavy Metal. Their eponymous first album predates Sabbath’s debut by a full year and the sludgy tempo of their version of Jake Holmes’ “Dazed and Confused” is as legit a ground zero as any. Recommended

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46:46

EP15: King Crimson "21st Century Schizoid Man"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/04/15

Prog Rock is structurally complex, it’s technically proficient, it's eclectic, it’s fantastical and maybe even philosophical. But is it heavy? Sure Rush and Yes have their moments but more often than not, prog leans too far into its jazz and psychedelic elements to summon any notion of “heavy" by the Sabbathian definition. King Crimson are the exception. The London five piece had the rare ability to have their saxophones and insane time signatures while also maintaining all the power a stack of

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45:56

EP14: The Beatles "(I Want You) She's So Heavy"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/04/08

Did the Beatles invent Doom Metal? The Fab Four are not exactly the first group you consider when discussing the history of heavy music but the song that closes Side One of Abbey Road is undeniably the precursor of many a down-tuned guitar to come. From the droning repeated guitar phrase to John Lennon’s pained vocal, this ode to Lennon’s desire for muse Yoko Ono is as heavy as anything on Black Sabbath’s debut which wouldn’t be released until four months after the Fabs unleashed their heaviest

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38:05

EP13: The Crazy World of Arthur Brown "Fire"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/04/01

Arthur Brown proclaimed “I am the god of hell fire” in the opening moments of his band’s lone hit single “Fire” and those words coupled with his extravagant stage presentation (which included face paint and a flaming headpiece) and unique vocal style, would prove to be a massive influence on everyone from Alice Cooper and KISS to King Diamond, Iron Maiden and the whole of Norwegian Black Metal. “Fire” isn’t sonically as “heavy” as most of the songs that we talk about on this podcast but it would be

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39:58

EP12: Blue Cheer "Summertime Blues"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/03/25

Blue Cheer may have released the first Heavy Metal album when they put out their debut Vincebus Eruptum in 1969. It had all the trademarks that would come to define the genre — angry vocals, heavily distorted guitars, a thundering rhythm section) and it was released more than two years before the first Black Sabbath record. What the San Francisco power trio also brought was the danger. They were named after a particulate toxic strain of LSD, fights and mayhem were common at their shows and they

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56:54

EP11: Iron Butterfly "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/03/18

It’s not inaccurate to call Iron Butterfly a one hit wonder but it is unfair. In seventeen minutes and four seconds “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” ebbs and flows and constricts and expands exploring every corner of psychedelia, prog, garage, acid, occult and hard rock. The songs lyrics, vocal melody, sludgy guitars, bass fills and two minute plus drum solo would influence scores of bands across every genre of heavy music and is in an off itself still a thrilli listen some 56 years since its release. The

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51:45

EP10: The Jimi Hendrix Experience "Voodoo Child...

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/03/11

In addition to being one of the most influential guitar players of all time and a brilliant songwriter, Jimi Hendrix was also 1/3 of one of the heaviest power trios to come out of 60’s psychedelia. The power of the band (which also included Noel Redding’s bass and Mitch Michell’s drums) was never more clearly on display than on Electric Ladyland’s last track. The History of Heavy Podcast Spotify: Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2qkURdYib8hLz8s20D9yTC?si=1526168526854a62

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47:55

EP9: The Velvet Underground "Sister Ray"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/03/04

It’s appropriate that our longest episode to date is a discussion about the 17+ minute, “Sister Ray,” the longest song in the Velvet Underground’s catalog (and it’s also their heaviest). The improvised cacophony that the band created in 1968 would foretell everything from Sonic Youth to My Bloody Valentine. We excavate the details and the songs legacy after a long discussion about the announcement of Black Sabbath's final show in Birmingham this summer. The History of Heavy Podcast Spotify

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42:31

EP8: Cream "Sunshine of Your Love"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/02/25

The first of what will be many episodes dedicated to power trios, each of whom prove that you can make a mighty racket with simply a guitar, bass and drums (plus plenty of loud amplification). The technical chops of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker are undeniable but on this, their best known song, they simplify to the bare essentials to produce the heaviest track in their catalog and providing a blueprint for many a heavy three-piece to follow. The History of Heavy Podcast Spotify

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39:00

EP7: The 13th Floor Elevators "You're Gonna Miss Me"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/02/18

“Psychedelic” is probably the word most commonly associated with the 13th Floor Elevators. Their electric jug driven music doesn’t necessarily lend itself to “heavy” however, the combination of Roky Erickson’s manic squeal, Benny Thurman’s bass and band's overall approach certainly had a significant influence on those that would come to define the term in the coming years and decades. Recommended Listening, Watching & Reading Album: Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye (A Tribute to Roky Erickson)

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32:54

EP6: John Coltrane "Ascension"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/02/11

Coltrane’s first foray into the world of the avant-garde is the focus of our first non-guitar/non-rock n roll centered episode. While lacking the screeching distortion or thundering bass often associated with heavy, one would be hard pressed to find a song weightier than the saxophonists 20 min+ improvisational free jazz masterstroke. Or as Dave puts it “this piece is the sheep’s head of jazz." Recommended Listening The History of Heavy Podcast Spotify Playlist Spotify

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41:05

EP5: The Rolling Stones "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/02/04

Once upon a time The Rolling Stones were hungry, dangerous, and yes, heavy. It all started with “(I Can’t Get Know) Satisfaction,” which may be difficult to understand today given the racket that metal, punk, industrial, hip hop, thrash, hardcore, death, doom, and grindcore acts have been making in the 60 years since it’s release. We attempt to connect the dots. Recommended Listening, Watching & Reading Book: Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angles and the Inside Story of Rock’s

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33:22

EP4: The Sonics "The Witch"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/01/28

You may not have heard of the Sonics but it’s highly probable that Mudhoney, Nirvana and the whole of the Seattle grunge rock scene never would have existed without them. Their raw, gritty sound would be the template for thousands of guitar wielding teenagers hell bent on making a distorted racket. But were the Sonics “Heavy?” We discuss how and why they fit into our ongoing conversation to answer that question. The History of Heavy Podcast Spotify Playlist Spotify

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33:50

EP3: The Kinks "You Really Got Me"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/01/21

When Ray Davies sat at his piano in 1964 and wrote “You Really Got Me” he had no way of knowing that the song would not only kick start the success of his band, The Kinks' but also be the track responsible for launching Van Halen into superstardom fifteen years after the fact. You could even make the case the song’s signature guitar riff (designed by Ray’s bother Dave) was ground zero for what we become Heavy Metal (the song was released six years before Black Sabbath’s debut LP). Mike and

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34:05

EP2: The Kingsmen "Louie Louie"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/01/14

“Louie Louie” is the most covered song of all-time and one of the earliest garage rock seeds to ultimately sprout punk rock, heavy metal and many of their sub-genres. Among the heaviest versions recorded include those by Motörhead, The Stooges and, Black Flag none of whom may have even existed without The Kingsmen’s ragged version of Richard Berry’s 1956 original. On episode 2 Mike and Dave discuss their love of the song and its importance in the heavy canon. Recommended Listening, watching &

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30:16

EP1: Link Wray "Rumble"

The History of Heavy Podcast ·

2025/01/07

The History of Heavy series premiere! We begin our chronology tracing the timeline of heavy music song by song in 1958 with Link Wray’s “Rumble.” Co-hosts Michael Huntsman & “Big-Daddy” Dave Lieberman discuss the social climate at the time, the emergence of the teenager and the origins of guitar distortion. Recommended Listening, watching & reading Electric Wizards: A Tapestry of Heavy Music 1968 to the Present by JR Moores

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