Metal Gateway Podcast

A podcast exploring people's metal gateways: in-depth talks with metal musicians (and others in the scene) about how they discovered heavy metal music and how it has shaped their lives. Hosted by Brian Sibley.

Enrique Sagarnaga, Drummer - Crypt Sermon/The Silver/Daeva 08/15/2026

Enrique Sagarnaga, Drummer - Crypt Sermon/The Silver/Daeva Season 2, Episode 2 - My conversation with Enrique Sagarnaga, who plays drums in Crypt Sermon, The Silver and Daeva. Recent releases featuring Enrique: - by Crypt Sermon - by The Silver - by Daeva A couple of Enrique’s favorite Bolivian metal bands: and Performance by the Chilean band Cuatro (stylized as IIII) from Cascadian Midsummer festival in 2025: of that show. Check out their album as well. It’s excellent. Enrique’s recent non-metal discovery: , by Tenhi, the Finnish neofolk band. Gorgeous stuff. *** The Metal Gateway Podcast is a production of Studio Portcullis. Our theme music is by . If you enjoyed this podcast, please like, share and subscribe. if you are feeling extra generous, please leave us a review on your podcast platform of choice. Reviews really help other people to find the show. If you have comments or questions or suggestions for guests you’d like to see on this show, please email them to or slide into my DMs on instagram @metalgateway This Podcast © 2026 by Studio Portcullis. All Rights Reserved. /episode/index/show/022198ee-a7d6-4728-9f46-c990d809feac/id/42448465

Carl Kumpe 08/08/2026

Carl Kumpe Season 2, Episode 1: my conversation with my old friend Carl Kumpe to kick off the second season of the show. I hope you enjoy the conversation! Theme music for this show is by Tauntaun: The Metal Gateway Podcast is a production of Studio Portcullis - Copyright 2026 /episode/index/show/022198ee-a7d6-4728-9f46-c990d809feac/id/42363265

Bonus Episode - The Future of Discovery 04/12/2026

Bonus Episode - The Future of Discovery Season 2 Bonus Episode - How will the kids of today become the metalheads of tomorrow? I sat down with Decibel writers Tim Mudd and Joseph Schafer to discuss the future of music discovery, and we explored what this will mean for the metal scene, given that we live in an era where a lot of recommendation comes to people via algorithm. The rest of Season 2 is coming soon! Show Notes: Links to a few things mentioned on this episode: Low Throes, Tim Mudd’s band - https://www.lowthroes.com Stereogum Article - https://stereogum.com/2258777/metal-sleep-token-bad-omens-spiritbox/columns/sounding-board NYT article "" on Jimmy Kimmel Book - “” Theme music for this show is by Tauntaun: The Metal Gateway Podcast is a production of Studio Portcullis - Copyright 2026 /episode/index/show/022198ee-a7d6-4728-9f46-c990d809feac/id/40819960

Rebecca Vernon (The Keening/SubRosa) 05/21/2024

Rebecca Vernon (The Keening/SubRosa) Season 1 Episode 10 - In this episode, the first season finale, I had a conversation with Rebecca Vernon, whose latest project The Keening arrived in our ears last year. You may recall that Rebecca is the founder of the band SubRosa, whose influence has been felt across the doom/sludge scene for nearly 20 years. Rebecca and I sat down and she told me about her “uncool beginnings” (her words, not mine) in the alternative music scene in Utah where she spent her teenage years and early adulthood, and how that led to the formation of SubRosa and the work she’s doing today. We talked about a lot of other things, including ska, the surprisingly vibrant goth scene Salt Lake City, how she first became a drummer, and later how she stepped out from behind the kit and picked up the guitar and fronted a band for the first time. I hope you enjoy the conversation! SHOW NOTES: The Keening - North American 2024 Summer Tour (w/ Pallbearer & Inter Arma -- June, July, August) - dates and tickets: The Keening music - SubRosa music - Red Bennies - Kid Hideaway and the Warboy: SLUG - Salt Lake UnderGround - Book - The War Of Art: /episode/index/show/022198ee-a7d6-4728-9f46-c990d809feac/id/31348642

Charlie Anderson - Violinist of Panopticon 05/14/2024

Charlie Anderson - Violinist of Panopticon Season 1 Episode 9 - From his roots in country music in his home state of Texas, Charlie Anderson's musical journey has taken him to the extremes of black metal, where he plays the fiddle in the now legendary black metal band Panopticon. Charlie was kind enough to sit down with me at Cascadian Midsummer festival and tell me the story about how he discovered metal music at quite a young age, and how a few seemingly random events led him to where he is today. I hope you enjoy the conversation! Show Notes: Celtic Frost - A Dying God Coming Into Human Flesh - Yes - Close to the Edge - Have you listened to this? If not, you must: Shoutout to Jordan Day - Panopticon - Rime of Memory - Panopticon tour dates - https://linktr.ee/truepanopticon Transit Method - https://transitmethod.bandcamp.com/album/othervoid Credits: Theme music for this show is by Tauntaun: The Metal Gateway Podcast is a production of Studio Portcullis - Copyright 2024 /episode/index/show/022198ee-a7d6-4728-9f46-c990d809feac/id/31134028

Kakophonix - Metal Cellist Extraordinaire 05/07/2024

Kakophonix - Metal Cellist Extraordinaire Season 1 Episode 8 - If you're an accomplished cellist who really understands metal, you can have a fascinating and varied career, and that's exactly what Kakophonix has done. He's a core member of the dark neofolk project Osi & The Jupiter, which has played numerous metal festivals and tours. He also has a solo project called Hvile i Kaos, which he describes as "black ritual chamber musick." Links to those projects are in the show notes below. In addition to these projects and his work as a music teacher, he's done guest and/or session work on the cello for many metal artists, including Abigail Williams, Vale of Pnath and many others. He sat down with me on a rainy afternoon at Cascadian Midsummer festival in June of last year to tell me his story. I hope you enjoy the conversation! Projects Kakophonix is actively involved in: Osi & The Jupiter: Hvile i Kaos: Kakophonix at Metal Archives: We also discussed these two bands, which are not his projects but that some might find intriguing: Antestor — Admonish - Theme music for this podcast is by Tauntaun: The Metal Gateway Podcast is a production of Studio Portcullis - Copyright 2024 /episode/index/show/022198ee-a7d6-4728-9f46-c990d809feac/id/31133963

MiniCast #1 - I Slept On Blind Guardian 05/03/2024

MiniCast #1 - I Slept On Blind Guardian BONUS MINI EPISODE - I slept on Blind Guardian. I did this for over 30 years. For this transgression, to all Blind Guardian fans the world over, I am deeply sorry. But after my experience on Wednesday night I have awakened from my slumber. This is a Blind Guardian Appreciation Episode. Thank you for listening! /episode/index/show/022198ee-a7d6-4728-9f46-c990d809feac/id/31112908

Matt Johnston - Former Music Director - KAOS-FM in Olympia, WA 04/30/2024

Matt Johnston - Former Music Director - KAOS-FM in Olympia, WA Season 1 Episode 7 - The early 1990s in the US was a pivotal time for heavy music, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, with the emergence of Grunge. Matt Johnston had a front row seat to a lot of those moments, as he was the music director of KAOS radio - the legendary college radio station in Olympia, Washington -- from 1991 to 1994. During that time, Matt got to see a lot of shows and meet a lot of people. He's got great stories to tell about that period, but also about what it was like to be a young metalhead where he grew up on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Enjoy the show! Links to things mentioned on this episode: Matt’s Metal Gateway - Spotify Playlist: Hawaii - Marty Friedman’s Hawaii-based band before he joined Megadeth. Their album “One Nation Underground” (1983) - Sacred Rite - another Hawaii-based metal band from the 1980s. Their 1980 self-titled album: PMA - Matt’s magazine and podcast: KAOS Radio - Listen live on the Interwebs: Theme music for this show is by Tauntaun: The Metal Gateway Podcast is a production of Studio Portcullis - Copyright 2024 /episode/index/show/022198ee-a7d6-4728-9f46-c990d809feac/id/31056403

Andrea Morgan - Violinist (Exulansis/The Keening) 04/23/2024

Andrea Morgan - Violinist (Exulansis/The Keening) Season 1, Episode 6 - Andrea Morgan plays the violin for a couple of bands (Exulansis and The Keening). She was kind enough to sit down with me last summer and talk about her metal journey, the presence of classical string instrumentation in extreme metal, and the role of small festivals in the metal scene today. Thank you for listening, and I hope you enjoy the conversation! Links mentioned in this episode: The Keening - European 2024 Spring Tour (w/ Bell Witch -- happening now through May 18) - dates and tickets: The Keening - North American 2024 Summer Tour (w/ Pallbearer & Inter Arma -- June, July, August) - dates and tickets: Exulansis music: The Keening music: /episode/index/show/022198ee-a7d6-4728-9f46-c990d809feac/id/30922443

CJ Yacoub - Drummer of Canis Dirus 04/16/2024

CJ Yacoub - Drummer of Canis Dirus Season 1 Episode 5 - CJ Yacoub - CJ is the drummer of Canis Dirus, Vulning, and others. I met them last summer at Cascadian Midsummer festival and had a chance to sit down (literally, in the forest) to hear the story about how they discovered metal music. If you're a black metal fan in Chicago on May 31, you can catch CJ playing with Vulning at Beat Kitchen - info and tickets here: Reminder -- Metal Gateway is a proud sponsor of Northwest Terror Fest 2024 - May 9-11 in Seattle () and please come say hello if you’re at the fest! Other links: Vulning (split w/ Sadness) — Canis Dirus - latest release - Canis Dirus full length and physical copies: CJ's listing at Metal archives: Enjoy the show!! /episode/index/show/022198ee-a7d6-4728-9f46-c990d809feac/id/30800913

Joseph Schafer 04/09/2024

Joseph Schafer Season 1, Episode 4 - Joseph Schafer eats, sleeps and breathes metal. He’s the vocalist for Colony Drop (everyone’s favorite Gundam-themed metal band), he’s one of the organizers of Northwest Terror Fest (Seattle’s premier extreme metal festival), and he’s a frequent contributor to Decibel magazine and other publications. He was kind enough to find time in between all of these projects to sit down and tell me his story. Northwest Terror Fest: In this episode: Colony Drop - Stand Against the World - from their full length album Brace for Impact: Music for this podcast provided by Tauntaun () - used by permission. The Metal Gateway Podcast is a production of Studio Portcullis - Copyright 2024 /episode/index/show/022198ee-a7d6-4728-9f46-c990d809feac/id/30748513

Jeff Braimes - Vocalist of Panic 04/02/2024

Jeff Braimes - Vocalist of Panic Season 1, Episode 3 - From their formation in 1985 until they disbanded in 1994, Jeff Braimes was the vocalist of Panic, a Seattle-based thrash metal band. He’s retired from metal now, but he stopped by the studio to tell me about how he got into it, and offered his perspective on what it was like to be in a metal band in Seattle when the whole Grunge thing happened. Enjoy! A few links for folks who are interested in exploring Panic’s stuff: Music Video - Panic - Blackfeather Shake: Full Album - Panic - Epidemic - Panic - Leave It Alone (from their 1987 Demo, produced by Terry Date, mentioned and excerpted in this episode) - Panic at Metal Archives: Music for this podcast by Tauntaun () - Used by permission. The Metal Gateway Podcast is a production of Studio Portcullis - Copyright 2024 /episode/index/show/022198ee-a7d6-4728-9f46-c990d809feac/id/30601703

Matt Jacobson - Founder of Relapse Records 03/26/2024

Matt Jacobson - Founder of Relapse Records This week's guest -- Matt Jacobson -- started Relapse Records in the basement of his mom's house in Aurora Colorado in 1990. In the years since, the label has become one of the most influential metal labels in the world. Thanks for listening! Please like, share and subscribe! Theme music for this podcast is provided by . Used by permission. The Metal Gateway Podcast is a production of Studio Portcullis - Copyright 2024 /episode/index/show/022198ee-a7d6-4728-9f46-c990d809feac/id/30540028

Joe Giersch 03/19/2024

Joe Giersch In this first-ever full episode of the Metal Gateway, Brian interviews his friend Joe Giersch, who you met if you listened to the Preview episoide. Thanks for listening! Please like, share and subscribe! Theme music for this podcast is by . Used by permission. /episode/index/show/022198ee-a7d6-4728-9f46-c990d809feac/id/30202708

Preview 02/26/2024

Preview The Metal Gateway Podcast - Episode 1 coming in March 2024! This preview episode explains the reasons why this show exists and what we hope to achieve with it. It contains an except from a conversation between Brian Sibley (host of the Metal Gateway) and his friend Joe Giersch, who was the inspiration for the project. Theme Music for this podcast provided by Tauntaun. To check out their music, visit . Please like, share and subscribe. Thank you! /episode/index/show/022198ee-a7d6-4728-9f46-c990d809feac/id/30120833

Metal Gateway Podcast

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