100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal
A Guided Tour of Heavy Music’s Greatest Hits with Brian Slagel
Brian Slagel
Show overview
100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal has been publishing since 2024, and across the 2 years since has built a catalogue of 101 episodes, alongside 1 trailer or bonus episode. That works out to roughly 85 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a weekly cadence.
Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 49 min and 55 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. Roughly 34% of episodes carry an explicit flag from the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-language Music show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 4 days ago, with 40 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2025, with 51 episodes published. Published by Brian Slagel.
From the publisher
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 metalhead or a new fan, this podcast brings you closer to the music and the legends who define it. Joining Brian are music journalist and critic Martin Popoff, offering deep historical context for each song, and acclaimed producer Jay Ruston, who provides technical insights into how these heavy anthems were crafted. Together, they bring an all-encompassing look at the hits that set the stage for metal and continue to inspire. Subscribe to 100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal and discover the unforgettable songs that live at the core of heavy music, one groundbreaking track at a time. Proud part of Pantheon Podcasts.