Gateway Bands

Heavy metal is a difficult genre of music to get into. Subgenres such as death metal and black metal may seem repulsive to music listeners who aren’t used to the harsh nature of the music. Sometimes music that sounds foreign can just be hard to comprehend.

Therefore, it is important that people find metal groups known as gateway bands. A gateway band is a band that helps one ease into a genre (or subgenre) of music. Once listeners start to enjoy a gateway band, it often becomes easier for them to explore the genre of music that initially seemed unlikable.  

A lot of metalheads really understand the importance of gateway bands. Very few metalheads have ever just been able to start listening to an extreme subgenre without having been eased into it through other bands. Furthermore, a lot of metalheads may have been turned off by heavy metal entirely, until that one special band came along to convince them otherwise. 

Personally, it took me years to start enjoying certain heavy metal subgenres. In fact, I was repulsed by just the idea of listening to heavy metal for a long time. But when I turned 15, I started listening to Metallica and everything began to change.

In my opinion, Metallica is probably the best gateway band into heavy metal. There’s a reason why they are the most popular metal band of all time. It is because they have such a strong universal appeal. The Black Album has sold 30 million copies worldwide, and has helped millions of people become interested in heavy metal. I was blown away the first time I heard “Enter Sandman,” and it really encouraged me to check out the rest of Metallica’s discography.

Pretty soon, I had become completely infatuated with the band’s early thrash metal albums. To this day, Master of Puppets remains my favorite heavy metal album ever. The first track off the album, “Battery,” encouraged me to check out more thrash metal bands besides Metallica, in search of other songs like it. Pretty soon, I found myself on a journey of musical discovery, and by trying to find bands that sounded like others I liked, I began to delve deeper and deeper into the heavy metal genre.

Metallica was my gateway band, but they’re not a good gateway band for everybody. Many metalheads who are encouraging their friends to start listening to metal will tell them to start at the very beginning with Black Sabbath. Black Sabbath is an admittedly great gateway metal band. It’s not hard to convince fans of hard rock, psychedelic rock and the blues that Black Sabbath is a phenomenal band. After exploring Black Sabbath, many people may be further encouraged to check out other doom metal bands, and may even decide to listen to stoner metal and sludge metal as well. 

Black Sabbath and Metallica are probably the stereotypical gateway bands of heavy metal. Other common older metal gateway bands include Deep Purple, Motörhead, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Megadeth and Anthrax. Collectively, these are the bands that most metalheads of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s will say got them into heavy metal. However, we’re in the 2000s now, and a lot of people are looking for more newer, more modern gateway bands into heavy metal.

Ghost is the gateway band that everyone seems to be talking about right now. Their gimmicky costumes alongside their rather tame music are universally likeable. Ghost’s dark vibe and embrace of the occult will naturally attract fans that are unfamiliar with heavy metal. They’re a great gateway band and they put on a hell of a live show.

Alternative metal and nu metal bands are good gateway bands for younger teenage listeners who are looking for a bit of kick to the usual rock music. I know a ton of people who have used Slipknot, Disturbed, System of a Down, Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach and Marilyn Manson as gateway bands into heavy metal. Personally, I think Disturbed is a really great gateway metal band that is good for easing people into the genre.

Metalcore also seems to be a subgenre that is a good gateway into heavy metal. Melodic metalcore bands such as Every Time I Die, Avenged Sevenfold, Killswitch Engage, Bullet for My Valentine and Trivium are great gateway metal bands with catchy songs. These are good bands for fans of punk music, and for those who just like simplistic, likeable songs. 

Lastly, for those who like complex music with a lot of intricacies, I recommend exploring progressive metal. Dream Theater, Fates Warning, Symphony X, Animals as Leaders, Devin Townsend Band and Cynic are an eclectic group of progressive metal bands that will surely appeal to listeners of more musically sophisticated and complex genres. 

I actually further recommend Cynic, particularly their newer material, to fans of indie rock. It’s sort of a stretch, but I think Cynic’s music might be a good gateway for them as well. Fans of indie rock and alternative rock might also appreciate groups such as Alcest, Agalloch and Amesoeurs. These are gateway bands that reflect a combination of metal and softer genres of music.

When beginning to listen to heavy metal, it’s all about finding the right gateway band. There are infinite possibilities, and all it takes is one band for someone to get completely hooked on heavy metal. Heavy metal is such a diverse genre of music that is really worth deeply exploring. Finding the right gateway band can lead to an exciting musical journey that can really open up one’s musical palette for the better.