ROOTS of Birmingham’s UK Metal Heritage | on SiriusXM
Week of March 28, 2026
Sat 3/28, 6PM ET
Sun 3/29, 1PM ET
Mon 3/30, 9AM ET
Tues 3/31, 4PM ET
Thurs 4/2, 9PM ET
Preparing for next week’s salute to 50 years of Judas Priest’s Sad Wings of Destiny, we celebrate the band’s hometown of Birmingham, England. Roots honors the city’s unrivaled contributions to metal, with tracks by Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Diamond Head, G.B.H., Napalm Death, Bolt Thrower, Godflesh, Cathedral, Anaal Nathrakh, and more. Up the Blues—know Your Roots!
Birmingham comes alive in the pages of SOUND OF THE BEAST, and Geezer Butler’s autobiography INTO THE VOID.
PLAYLIST:
BLACK SABBATH – “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” from SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH
JUDAS PRIEST – “Hell Bent for Leather” from KILLING MACHINE
DIAMOND HEAD – “It’s Electric” from LIGHTNING TO THE NATIONS
G.B.H. – “Necrophilia” from THE PUNK SINGLES 1981-1984
SACRILEGE UK – “Feed” from FEED 2015
CEREBRAL FIX – “Unity for Who? / Enter the Turmoil” from TOWER OF SPITE
NAPALM DEATH – “Retching on the Dirt” from FEAR, EMPTINESS, DESPAIR
GODFLESH – “Veins” from GODFLESH
CATHEDRAL – “Melancholy Emperor” from ENDTYME
BOLT THROWER – “World Eater” from REIGN OF CHAOS
ANAAL NATHRAKH – “Endarkenment” from ENDARKENMENT
MEMORIAM – “Undefeated” from REQUIEM FOR MANKIND
BENEDICTION – “Stormcrow” from SCRIPTURES
OPIUM LORD – “Sherwood Is Connector” from VORE
Roots is Sound of the Beast author Ian Christe’s heavy metal history show on Sirius XM Liquid Metal channel 40. Since June 2004, each weekly show has examined another subgenre, band, movement, country, or theme. The show is available on-demand online from SiriusXM.com.
It’s fascinating to see how Birmingham’s metal scene influenced so many later bands. The way these playlists connect different eras really gives a sense of the genre’s evolution and the legacy of those early pioneers.
Great travel writeup! The detail here really helps with planning. I’ve started recording voice memos while traveling and transcribing them — much better than trying to type notes on the go.
Clear, concise, and packed with value. Thanks for sharing!
Really appreciate the effort you put into this. It’s super helpful.
Great line-up for that Birmingham segment — pairing Sabbath and Priest with heavier picks like Bolt Thrower and Anaal Nathrakh actually shows the range of what came out of that city rather than just the obvious hits. I’ve been using AI Image to Image to touch up some old show flyers for a Birmingham metal mixtape project, so this rundown is well timed.
Birmingham’s influence on UK metal heritage doesn’t get talked about enough outside of the obvious Sabbath references. Going to tune into the Sat 6PM ET slot this week, always appreciate a well-curated Bloody Roots playlist.
Birmingham’s claim to being the birthplace of metal doesn’t get nearly enough attention outside of Sabbath discussions, so it’s great to see a playlist built specifically around the city’s broader scene. Excited for the Sad Wings of Destiny tribute next week – that album doesn’t get talked about as much as Priest’s later work but the guitar work on it holds up incredibly well.
Tracing the lineage from Sabbath through Diamond Head to Napalm Death and Bolt Thrower is a genuinely good arc for showing how much Birmingham’s sound splintered into different subgenres over the decades. Timing it around the Sad Wings of Destiny anniversary is a nice touch since Priest doesn’t always get grouped with the city’s rawer extreme-metal side.