The Gates of Slumber was a Doom metal outfit from Indianapolis which achieved it's legendary status through working hard and passionately. It started as Karl Simon's project somewhere about 1998, but the demo 'Sabbath Witch' was already recorded with a first full lineup, though not released until 2002. The Gates of Slumber lineup had several changes in the beginning; in spite of this, Karl always continued his work as the band's mastermind. Bass guitarist Jason McCash and drummer Iron Bob Fouts came to be integral parts of this, enhancing The Gates of Slumber with their skills and experience.

Five great full length albums and a dozen smaller releases made the band's name, showing the best of heroic Doom metal. Fantasy tales, stories about Conan and a pair of Lovecraft-inspired songs were a kind of trademark of the band, but fifth album 'The Wretch' (2011) became something new when the band turned away from fantasy concepts and worked over more personal topics. After Jason's death in 2014, Karl decided to close The Gates.... Yet, intriguing news came in 2015 when he made up his mind and announced the birth of his new group, Wretch. It was my duty to get in contact with Karl and ask him about past and future secrets. The days of giant spiders and ice worms have come to an end, but Wretch is alive.