About this episode

Brian Slagel discusses Black Sabbath's 'Symptom of the Universe' with guest Brian Posehn, exploring the song's background and production.

Black Sabbath - "Symptom of the Universe" From the Album "Sabatoge", released July 28, 1975 Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel is joined by actor-comedian Brian Posehn to talk about Black Sabbath's "Symptom of the Universe", Brian's favorite Sabbath song from his Sabbath album. We also get the usual background, facts, figures and opinions from author Martin Popoff, who says that this is also his favorite Black Sabbath song. Plus, a conversation on the production of the song and the record from Mark Lewis. Watch the unedited video version of Brian's interview with Brian Posehn on our YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/LRT5aVCmmQg Watch the unedited video version of Brian's conversation about this song with producer Mark Lewis: Brian Slagel is on X and Instagram @BrianSlagel Brian Posehn is on X @TheBrianPosehn and Instagram @BrianPosehn Mark Lewis is on Instagram @MarkLewis720 Follow 100 Songs That Define Heavy Metal @100MetalSongs on X and Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Brian Slagel

Guest: Brian Posehn

Topics covered

• Black Sabbath
• heavy metal
• music production
• song analysis
• interviews

Keywords

• Black Sabbath
• Symptom of the Universe
• Sabatoge
• Brian Posehn
• Mark Lewis

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Metal Blade Records

Books & works: Symptom of the Universe, Sabatoge

More episodes of 100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal

• Iron Maiden - "Powerslave" · July 20, 2026 · 57 min
• Gojira - "The Heaviest Matter of the Universe" · July 13, 2026 · 53 min
• Metallica - "Orion" · July 6, 2026 · 54 min
• AC/DC - "Hells Bells" · June 29, 2026 · 1h 3m
• Slayer - "South of Heaven" · June 15, 2026 · 47 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the 100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal podcast page.