Heavy Metal 101

Heavy Metal 101

Your favorite podcast, wherein Eric, an expert, and John, a novice, explore, discuss, and argue about the history of heavy metal music. New episodes are available on the 3rd Monday of each month! Visit us at: https://anchor.fm/heavymetal101podcast Contact us at: heavymetal101podcast@gmail.com Social media: https://www.facebook.com/HeavyMetal101Podcast https://twitter.com/heavy_101 https://www.instagram.com/heavymetal101podcast/ Theme Music: Valhalla by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

Episodes

September 15, 2025 68 mins

Wherein Eric struggles mightily in his efforts to convince John of the many virtues found in the music of early groove metal masters including Pantera, Machine Head, Fear Factory, Sepultura, and more.


Click on the links below for all the music listening/video breaks in this episode:


Listening Break #1: Bad Brains "Voyage Into Infinity" from Quickness (1989)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfYAifi_9-s


Listening Break #2: P...

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Wherein Eric and John put on their big boy panties and finally discuss arguably the most important proto-metal band of all time: Led Zeppelin!


Click on the links below for all the music listening/video breaks in this episode:


(Optional) Listening Break #1: "Communication Breakdown" from Led Zeppelin I (1969)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2atkj_KWLl0

or "Heartbreaker" from Led Zeppelin II (1969)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5O4...

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Wherein Eric and John surprise the world with a midsummer bonus episode dedicated to the life and times of one of the most important metal artists of all time, Quorthon, and his legendary black metal/Viking metal band Bathory.


This bonus episode would not have been possible without the support of beloved Heavy Metal 101 Patreon members like Quorthon100, who requested this specific topic. Please do consider joining us on our Pat...

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Wherein Eric and John celebrate the 4th season finale by looking in on some of the most monumental heavy metal ever made, including ...And Justice for All and The Black Album (Metallica).

Click on the links below for all the music listening/video breaks in this episode:


Video Break #1: "One" from ...And Justice for All (1988)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM8bTdBs-cw


Listening Break #1: Choose your own adventure!

a...

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Wherein Eric and John gird their loins, say their prayers, and set forth on an exploration of two of the most frightening, awe-inspiring, and odd monuments in the history of rock music: Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, while also peaking in on some of the bad behavior that was so deeply interwoven into the legend of Guns N' Roses.


Click on the links below for all the music listening/video breaks in this episode:

...

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Wherein Eric and special guest co-host Ross explore the decline and fall of the most beloved musical genre of their shared misspent youth, glam metal, looking in on the life, times, and repertoire of bands including Slaughter, Poison, Ratt, Warrant, Skid Row, Kiss, Mötley Crüe and many, many more as the 90's death-marched all of them slowly but surely towards (a temporary!) cultural irrelevance.


Opening poem excerpted from ...

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Wherein Eric explores a collection of the coolest new metal releases from February of 2025. Heavy Metal 101 is, at last, (almost!) up to date! This minisode is being offered on the main podcast feed as a "Patreon Sneak Peek" for non-members. Please consider signing up to the Heavy Metal 101 Patreon page for just $3/month. Members get access to exclusive content (like this!), as well as the satisfaction of supporting our s...

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Wherein Eric takes John on a scenic tour through some of the darkest and lowest circles of Hell via an exploration of the tragic tale of Mayhem and the music of many of Norwegian black metal’s founding fathers, including Darkthrone, Burzum, Immortal, and Emperor.


Click on the links below for all the music listening breaks in this episode:


Listening break #1: “Black Metal” by Venom from Black Metal (1982) https://youtu.be/rYg5c_LrsRk?...

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Wherein Eric transcends the very fabric of reality as we know it and takes full advantage of the extraordinary opportunity to interview one of his great musical heroes, Kory Clarke of Warrior Soul, discussing the earliest portion of his music career, Warrior Soul's iconic 90s albums, and what he and the band are up to these days.


For more information about Kory Clarke and Warrior Soul visit:

https://www.facebook.com/warriorsouloff...

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Wherein Eric and John once again examine some of the gnarled roots underneath the heavy metal family tree, exploring the development and formative influence of golden age 1950s rock 'n roll, and, just maybe, find the very first heavy metal song ever all the way back in 1956!

Click on the links below for all the music listening breaks in this episode: Listening break #1- "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats (1951) htt...

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Wherein Eric and John celebrate the holiday season first via a nostalgic deep dive into the 90s catalog of arguably the greatest heavy metal "should have beens" of that entire decade, Warrior Soul, and then explore the ever-growing catalog of seasonal themed metal releases. Click on the links below for all the music listening breaks in this episode: Music listening break #1- Warrior Soul "The Losers" from Last Decade Dead Century...

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Wherein Eric and John rhapsodize over three of the greatest heavy metal albums ever made, Judas Priest's Painkiller, Megadeth's Rust in Peace, and Black Sabbath's Dehumanizer, in an episode so great that even John doesn't hate it. Click on the links below for all the music listening breaks in this episode: Music listening break #1- Judas Priest "Painkiller" from Painkiller (1990) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hadGUw2tpk Music ...

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Wherein Eric and John deep dive into the moldering early history of American death metal and British grindcore, exploring the fetid formative tales of an assortment of bands including Death Possessed, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Deicide, Napalm Death, and Carcass.


Click on the links below for all the music listening breaks in this episode: Music listening break #1- Possessed "Death Metal" from Seven Churches (1985) https://www.youtu...

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Wherein Eric and very special guest Patrick, of the Rewind of the Living Dead Podcast, celebrate the spooky season by exploring the intersection of heavy metal and horror movies and take a deep dive into the delightful 2016 heavy metal horror comedy Deathgasm and its accompanying metal soundtrack. Boo!


Here is a link to a YouTube playlist featuring the discussed bands/songs from the (truly excellent!) Deathgasm soundtrack: htt...

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Wherein Eric and John sip hot, black coffee and burn nag champa incense while exploring the diverse and wonderous "alt" branch of the metal family tree, discussing an assortment of bands including: Faith No More, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, White Zombie, Melvins, Alice in Chains, Tool, and many more! Click on the link below for the episode video break:


Video break: Tool- "Sober" from Undert...

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Wherein Eric and John return to the fray, exploring the extraordinary music making of Iron Maiden in their first Bruce Dickinson fronted period, 1981-93. Click on the links below for all the music listening breaks in this episode: Music listening break #1- "The Trooper" from Piece of Mind (1983) https://youtu.be/4VZbjrDwQ28?si=7rIZSnnsjQYHPH_Z


Video break #1: "Can I Play With Madness" (1988) https://youtu...

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Wherein Eric and John create the most complex, elaborate, and delightful list possible of the most essential, awesome metal albums released during the genre's golden decade, the 1980s. Although we here at HM101 are more about the journey than the destination, if you want to skip to the "short list", it can be found starting at approximately 1:14:50. Click on the links below for all the music listening breaks in this episode: Mus...
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April 15, 2024 74 mins
Wherein Eric and John explore the magnificent oeuvre of perhaps the most metal man who ever lived, the late, great Ronnie James Dio, from his career as an early rock and roll crooner through his iconic stints with Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and Dio. Click on the links below for all the music listening breaks in this episode: Music listening break #1: Dio- "We Rock" from The Last in Line (1984) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8OapNNA...
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Wherein Eric and John return to some of Eric's most favorite historical stomping grounds, the epic history of that most maligned of heavy metal subgenres, glam metal, by delving into just what a vast assortment of bands, including Poison, Cinderella, the mighty Guns N' Roses, and many, many more, were up to in the late 1980s. Click on the links below for all the music listening breaks in this episode! Music listening break #1: Po...
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February 19, 2024 65 mins

Wherein Eric and John go to some truly dark places, exploring one of Eric's least favorite metal subgenres, progressive metal, but come out the other side stronger, wiser, and having talked about an assortment of amazing artists including the "big three": Fates Warning, Dream Theater, and Queensrÿche, as well as Eric's pick for THE SINGLE GREATEST HEAVY METAL ALBUM OF THE 1980s!

opening poem: Music by Walter De L...

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