Quick topic summary: This time, it's personal! Nate and Jacki discuss their metal listening origin stories. We talk about:

• Nate's secret past as a band guy (Jacki is too intimidated to attempt German words)
• The defining songs and albums that started our roads to heavy metal
• Growing up with parental music choices including Steppenwolf, Captain and Tennille, and Garth Brooks
• CD prices and music discoverability before the 2.0 internet (a dark time indeed)
• Concerts we've seen: Nate plays air guitar at Ozzy, sees Nevermore and Mayhem in college, and falls for Rain Fell Within at Metalfest, also with shout-out to Anathema. Jacki witnesses true love at a GWAR show, survives the onslaught of A Band of Orcs
• Beavis and Butt-Head, obviously
• The shift from record labels to self-producing
• What keeps us coming back
• Nate's love of black metal
• Jacki's in a thruple with power and folk metal
• How our metal listening overlaps with our reading tastes
• A digression on Béowulf and JRR Tolkien
• Nonfiction and heavy metal
• Benefits of metal fandom

You can find our Spotify profile with our Metal Origins playlist at https://open.spotify.com/user/31kosaxlm6j56e44766ijo4ndzjq?si=cdd4a1a247c646e1

Music Mentions:

• Amok by Sentenced
• In Extremo
• “Ecce Homo” by The Black League
• “Breaking the Law” by Judas Priest
• “Pull Me Under” by Dream Theater
• “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath
• “Holy Diver” by Dio
• Live at the Fillmore by Testament
• The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience by Beavis and Butt-Head
• Greatest Hits by Queensrÿche
• “The Family Ghost” by King Diamond is the video referenced
• “Transcendence” by Labyrinthus Stellarum
• “Eternity” by Anathema
• “Land of Snow and Sorrow” by Wintersun
• Forgotten Tales
• “Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk” by Emperor
• Moonlight Sorcery (Again! We love them!)
• “Bēowulf Is Mīn Nama” and “O Fortuna” by Corvus Corax
• Kentucky by Panopticon
• “With Doom We Come” by Summoning

Upcoming Reading/Listening Releases

1. The Two Testaments of Chuck Billy by Chuck Billy (11/2026)
2. Born in Flames by Bench Ansfield (09/2026)
3. Big Bad Book of Kaiju by Jonathan Mayberry and Henry Herz, ed (08/26)
4. Ocean Above Stars Below by Triosphere (08/26)

Next Month’s Book: Bring your lyre and your hand-painted urn, because it's The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

Playlist Contents:

• Nepenthe - Sentenced
• Ecce Homo! - The Black League
• Breaking the Law - Judas Priest
• Pull Me Under - Dream Theater
• Iron Man - Black Sabbath
• Holy Diver - Dio
• The Preacher (Live) - Testament
• Bark at the Moon (Live) - Ozzy Osbourne
• Come To Butt-Head - Beavis And Butt-Head
• Someone Else? - Queensrÿche
• The Family Ghost - King Diamond
• WarChiefs of the Apocalypse - A Band of Orcs
• Transcendence - Labyrinthus Stellarum
• Eternity (Pt. 1) - Anathema
• Land of Snow and Sorrow - Wintersun
• Cold Heart - Forgotten Tales
• Béowulf Is Mín Nama - Corvus Corax
• With Doom I Come - Summoning