Review: Castle Rat ‘The Bestiary’
The dance of the beasts.
Castle Rat‘s second full-length album, The Bestiary, is their most ambitious and realised work yet, proving a massive leap in creativity and style for the Brooklyn, NY band. Led by the multifaceted Riley Pinkerton, aka The Rat Queen, the histrionic group delivers a collection of songs inspired by fantastic beings and legends – a concept that perfectly suits their sound evolution.
While they once leaned toward stoner rock, Castle Rat now embraces a darker, doomy approach, maintaining a strong connection to classic US power metal, visible in their lyrics and fantastical artwork. The lineup is completed by The Count (Franco Vittore) on guitar and backing vocals, The Plague Doctor (Charley Ruddell) on bass and The All-Seeing Druid (Joshua Strmic) on drums.
The Bestiary, recorded by legendary Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Wolves in the Throne Room, Björk) and mixed by Jonathan Nuñez (Torche, Restless Spirit), and about the album, The Rat Queen herself says it’s ‘a conceptual book of beasts containing a collection of mystical creatures from a world forgotten’ adding that it’s ‘woven through the power of traditional heavy metal song and spell.’
Sounding more in the vein of doom and stoner metal or early heavy metal, what really stands out is The Rat Queen’s wonderful, atmospheric voice is closer to the style of Stevie Nicks than that of a typical metal singer. The mood can shift from dreamlike to dark and gloomy, while the band carefully builds a musical puzzle where influences are hard to classify; they’re all there, yet none dominate. That’s what makes the record so intriguingly attractive.
The Bestiary has consolidated Castle Rat as one of the most creative new bands in today’s heavy scene…
It opens with PHOENIX I, an atmospheric, doomy, medieval instrumental with a primitive drum and that epic guitar tandem. WOLF I feels like a dark stoner groove driven by a sticky riff and carried by The Rat Queen’s hypnotic voice with a psychedelic, desert-like feel. This formula continues through the album, but each song brings its own twist. The bass and guitar weave together perfectly, while the drums guide the music with precision and energy, marking each change of rhythm with real purpose.
WIZARD and SIREN sound familiar in the best way: heavy, rooted in stoner doom, showing exactly where the band comes from. UNICORN might be the highlight at six and a half minutes as it’s where the group stretches its sound, taking risks and diving deeper into darker textures. PATH THE MOSS, the second instrumental, offers a welcome breather before SERPENT takes things to a more epic tone.
WOLF II, an acoustic version with Mellotron, adds a haunting touch while DRAGON stands as one of the strongest moments, where syncopation meets the band’s heaviest side. SUMMONING SPELL plays with layered voices that seem to dance in a Celtic forest before SUN SONG brings another massive dose of atmospheric doom, lifted by Mellotrons, Moogs and ARP synthesiser adding textures that carry through much of the record. Finally, PHOENIX II closes this remarkable album with calm and balance, a fitting end to the intensity and imagination of The Bestiary.
In forty-eight minutes across thirteen tracks, The Bestiary has consolidated Castle Rat as one of the most creative new bands in today’s heavy scene. The mix of doom, stoner, and fantasy gives their music its own identity, classic and new at the same time.
Label: Blues Funeral Recordings | King Volume Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Renzo
