100 Songs That Define Heavy Metal is a weekly podcast from Metal Blade Records and Pantheon Media, hosted by Metal Blade founder Brian Slagel. Each episode dives into one track that shaped heavy metal—production stories, historical angles, and why the song still matters today.
In this episode, Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel is joined by the Executive Producer and Co-Creator of "Dark Side of the Ring" and the recent series of heavy metal documentaries, "Into the Void" about the song that he chose as the theme music for that series, Cirith Ungol's "Into the Void". Brian also talks about the production on this record with Bill Metoyer, whom Brian worked with on the production of Cirith Ungol's follow-up record, 1986's "One Foot In Hell". Author Martin Popoff provides his usual expertise in discussing the song, with many facts and even more opinions about Cirith Ungol's career. The complete, uncut version of Brian's conversation with Evan Husney can be found on our YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/RF4lOsgH3lk Evan Husney is on Instagram @EvanHusney Bill Metoyer is on Instagram and X @Bill_Metoyer Martin Popoff is on X @Popoff Martin Follow 100 Songs That Define Heavy Metal on X, Instagram and TikTok @100Metal Songs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices]]>
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Oct 13, 2025 • 49m 15s
Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel discusses Aerosmith's "Rats in the Cellar" with the producer and co-creator of this show, Christian Bladt, who hosts his own show, The Bladtcast. Producer Jay Ruston also discusses the song, as does author Martin Popoff.
Oct 6, 2025 • 55m 31s
Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel is joined by guitarist Stoney Curtis to discuss Kiss's "Detroit Rock City" from their landmark album "Destroyer". Brian also talks about the production of the song and the album with producer Jay Ruston, and, as always, author Martin Popoff gives some historical perspective to the song.
Sep 29, 2025 • 57m 27s
Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel is joined by Sirius XM personality and former co-host of That Metal Show Eddie Trunk to discuss UFO's "Love to Love" (both the studio and live versions). Brian also talks about the production of both versions with Jay Ruston, and, as always, author Martin Popoff provides some historical context for the song.
Sep 22, 2025 • 52m 11s
Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel talks about Deicide's "Dead By Dawn" with Monte Conner, the former senior vice president of A&R for Roadrunner Records and current head of A&R at Nuclear Blast Records. Producer Mark Lewis also talks about why this song was so important to him, and, as always, author Martin Popoff provides some historical context to the song.
Sep 15, 2025 • 49m 22s
Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel talks to Chef Curtis Duffy about Danzig, particularly the song "Twist of Cain". He also discusses his restaurant in Chicago, Ever, his new book "Fireproof", some of his favorite concerts of all time, and what it was like to be at Black Sabbath's "Back to the Beginning" show.
Sep 8, 2025 • 53m 9s
Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel is joined by Sirius XM host Jose Mangin to talk about the importance of Sepultura's "Dead Embryonic Cells", the current incarnation of Pantera, Jose's charity Headbang for Science and an incredible story about backstage at a Sepultura-Pantera-Prong show in the 90's. Also: Producer Mark Lewis takes a look at the production on the song and author Martin Popoff gives us some historical perspective on the song.
Sep 1, 2025 • 48m 52s
Metal Blade Records CEO discusses the production on Metallica's "Spit Out The Bone" from the album "Hardwired to Self-Destruct" with that album's producer, Greg Fidleman. Then, chef Chris Santos returns to the show to talk about the song, the likelihood of a Metallica residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas and whether or not they will ever get the opportunity to perform at halftime during the Super Bowl.
Aug 25, 2025 • 51m 44s
This week, Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel is joined in The Space studio in Las Vegas by In Flames guitarist Chris Broderick to discuss King Diamond's "Welcome Home". Producer Mark Lewis and author Martin Popoff also share their thoughts on the song, and this era of King Diamond.