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.
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 of the song with proud Canadian producer Jay Ruston, and we get our usual mixture of facts, statistics and opinon from yet ANOTHER proud Canadian, Martin Popoff. Watch a video version of the full interview on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5og4XF5V2Gc Brian Slagel is on social media @BrianSlagel JT The Brick is on X @JTTheBrick and Instagram @JTTheBrickLV Jay Ruston is on social media @JayRuston Martin Popoff is on Instagram @Martin_Popoff63 Follow the show on social media @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.