Ralph Metzner, born on May 18, 1936, in Germany, was an American psychologist, writer, and researcher. His musical career began with the release of the audio manual The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead (1966), a collaboration with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert that was reissued on CD in 2003 by Folkways. He later produced two CDs with Kit Walker: Bardo Blues (2006) and Spirit Soundings (2006). His work included collaborations with various artists in the field of spoken word and soundings. Metzner passed away on March 14, 2019.