Not a Metallurgy class! This veteran crash-course is coming back in full force and will have you head banging, air guitaring, and devil horn raising in no time! Learn everything you ever wanted to know about Heavy Metal, including how Metallica continues to evolve, why Lemmy IS God (RIP), how the genre tackles some of today’s biggest sociopolitical challenges, why metal bands exist in every country on Earth, and why you’re probably already a metalhead without even knowing it.
WARNING: This series most definitely goes to 11! Earplugs optional.
We’ll look at metal cultures, explore the fringes of the most extreme forms of metal, and, of course, listen to some SCREAMING HEAVY METAL! This is guaranteed to be the most BRUTAL class ever offered at MIT! Anyone is welcome to join, and since we’re remote again this year, seating isn’t limited. Learn more about this series’ past in the class archive!
This year’s flyer design was created by artist, Kai Gabriela of Nekroninfa Tattoo & Designs! Check out more of her work at www.instagram.com/_nekroninfa.art!
All classes start at 6:30pm ET and Zoom Registration links are posted below each class!
Heavy Metal 101: Music and Culture
Monday January 19, 2026
An introduction to Heavy Metal. Topics include the musicology of Heavy Metal as well as an examination of Heavy Metal culture. This multimedia extravaganza covers everything you ever wanted to know about Heavy Metal!
Metal, Community, and the Sunset Strip with David Tobin
Wednesday January 21, 2026
MIT Heavy Metal 101 is pleased to present guest lecturer, David Tobin, as he outlines his time running the Roxy Theater and On The Rox in West Hollywood, California in the early 2000s. This presentation will primarily focus on the metal scene in Los Angeles and how the community responded to changes with technology and the Internet while maintaining and adapting its identity on the Sunset Strip.
Traveling and Reconfiguring the History of Art Through Metal with Kai Gabriela Gomez
Thursday January 22, 2026
MIT Heavy Metal 101 is pleased to present guest lecturer, Kai Gabriela Gomez. In this class, we will take a journey through Art History and the main characteristics of several periods of art, using visual references from metal album covers and artwork of from bands around the world.
History of Heavy Metal: Part I
Monday January 26, 2026
A seminar examining the history of Heavy Metal from the late 1960s through the early 1990s. Topics will include Hard Rock, Archetypal Heavy Metal, and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM).
Neuroscience of Metal with Evgeny Gromovoy
Tuesday January 27, 2026
MIT Heavy Metal 101 is pleased to present guest lecturer, Evgeny Gromovoy. How is music processed in the brain? Why does it evoke pleasure? Can it have therapeutic effects? Advances in neuroscience are beginning to unravel these intricate questions. In this talk, Evgeny will provide an overview of our current understanding—and highlight the mysteries that remain.
All About Harsh Vocals – History, Application, and Technique with Paul Buckley – LIVE In-Person and Online!
Wednesday January 28, 2026
This class will take place both in-person on MIT’s Campus in room 35-225 and will be livestreamed (if possible) and recorded for later viewing. To join in person, please head to Building 35 on MIT’s campus, and room 225 will be on the second floor. Please register here: https://forms.gle/4BHMDX7YFCGGGrEU9
MAP: https://maps.app.goo.gl/AvrVmqMBTk8qe67a7 Parking is limited. **Please note: you must arrive before 7pm to be able to access the classroom.**
MIT Heavy Metal 101 is pleased to present guest lecturer, Paul Buckley. This talk will discuss the history of harsh vocals, how they are applied in everyday life, and how rock and metal singers use them to do what they do.
Mosh Pits to Mise en Place with Elvia and Alex García
Monday February 2, 2026
MIT Heavy Metal 101 is pleased to present guest lecturers, Alex and Elvia García. This lecture will explore the overlap between metal scenes and kitchens, mapping where metal’s values – authenticity, extreme passions, and DIY mentalities – match with restaurant life and building a community.
History of Heavy Metal: Part II
Wednesday February 4, 2026
A seminar examining the history of Heavy Metal from the early 1980s to the present. Topics include Power Metal, Thrash Metal and the Big 4.
The Physics of Metal Guitar with Will Lunden
Thursday February 5, 2026
MIT Heavy Metal 101 is pleased to present guest lecturer, Will Lunden. Will’s session will focus on the physics at the heart of the electric guitar in metal, and how the fundamental properties of waves and electronics lead to its characteristic sounds. Topics covered will include electric guitar pickup design and placement, natural and artificial harmonics, multiscale/”fanned fret” guitars, true temperament guitars, the boons and banes of nonlinearity, and why distortion is so integral to the “heavy metal sound.” There will be also be some shred-tastic demonstrations along the way.
Ambassador Mode: Metal Stewardship with Jose Mangin
Monday February 9, 2026
MIT Heavy Metal 101 is pleased to present guest lecturer, Jose Mangin. This lecture will address what it means to represent a genre and who is being represented: bands, fans, scenes, or a set of values? Jose breaks down ambassadorship as a service role: welcoming newcomers, amplifying artists, and supporting young metalheads through his Headbang For Science Foundation.
History of Heavy Metal: Part III [RESCHEDULED, Wednesday 2/11]
Wednesday February 11, 2026
This will be a seminar examining even more genres of Heavy Metal. Topics will include more about the (then) New Wave of American Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, and Progressive Metal.
The Birth of Metal: Blue Cheer Prove that Metal is More than Music with Bob Mayo
Thursday February 12, 2026
MIT Heavy Metal 101 is pleased to present guest lecturer, Bob Mayo. In this presentation, Boston-area metal musician Bob Mayo will attempt to establish conclusively that California’s Blue Cheer was the first heavy metal band, and their debut album “Vincebus Eruptum” is the first heavy metal album. Mayo will use choice examples of the band’s music, but also key interview excerpts from contemporary published interviews as well as TV appearances. The debate ends here!
Life as a Modern Metal Drummer: Tech, Production, and Touring with Matt Zappa
Tuesday February 17, 2026
MIT Heavy Metal 101 is pleased to present guest lecturer, Matt Zappa. This lecture will explore drumming techniques used by modern metal musicians, featuring live demonstrations. It will also cover the skills and requirements expected of contemporary drummers in the music industry, the impact of technological advancements on music and instrument production, and personal stories from life on tour.
Details TBA!
History of Heavy Metal: Part IV
Thursday February 19, 2026
This will be a seminar examining even more genres of Heavy Metal. Topics will include more about Metal Fusion, Experimental and Avant-Garde Metal, and whatever else we missed so far. As always, it’s going to get weird.