Castle Rat's sophomore album The Bestiary, released in 2025, is a compelling work within the fantasy heavy metal genre. Emerging from the dark underground of New York, the band, led by Rat Queen Riley Pinkerton, creates a vibrant world of mythical creatures and epic battles. Together with characters such as The Count, The Plague Doctor and The All-Seeing Druid, the group fights against the Rat Reaperess with riff-laden heavy metal anthems and dark spells. Recorded by Randall Dunn and mixed by Jonathan Nuñez, the album is a conceptual book full of cautionary tales about forgotten beasts, preserved by The Wizard. This 49-minute odyssey invites you on a slow, conscious journey through a realm of mysticism and carnage, like a portal to a forgotten world full of allegorical myths. The record feels less like a collection of songs and more like an enchanting domain that engulfs the listener with its grandiose riffs, hypnotic melodies and ritualistic atmosphere. It weaves epic tales of mythical creatures with traditional heavy metal power, full of dangerous allure and epic tension. King Volume Records released it on coloured vinyl and other formats, matching the band's medieval fantasy aesthetic. The Bestiary is a masterpiece that wins hearts with its structured, book-like composition and commanding sound.
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