Castle Rat – The Bestiary 2025

Fantasy heavy metal outfit Castle Rat have busted down the doors on their future plans, as they not only announced the release date for their sophomore album The Bestiary, but they also unveiled a long run of tour dates in the U.S. and U.K/Europe.

For those that don’t know, this New York-based act plays really cool, fuzzy medieval fantasy doom metal. Helmed by The Rat Queen (aka Riley Pinkerton), they play with a sexy swagger while talking about rogues and daggers. There are swords, “spells”, and at the end of the day, hopefully some vanquished evil. The Bestiary will feature 13 new songs. The full album will be released on September 19 via King Volume Records here in the U.S. or Blues Funeral Recordings in the U.K. and Europe. According to The Rat Queen, this one’s got a wealth of knowledge stashed away in it…

01. PHOENIX I: Ardent
02. WOLF I: Tooth & Blade
03. WIZARD: Crystal Heart
04. SIREN: The Pull Of Promise
05. UNICORN: Carnage And Ice
06. PATH OF MOSS
07. CRYSTAL CAVE: Enshrined
08. SERPENT: Coiled Figure
09. WOLF II: Celestial Beast
10. DRAGON: Lord Of The Sky
11. SUMMONING SPELL
12. SUN SONG: Behold The Flame
13. PHOENIX II: Cinerous

RILEY ‘ THE RAT QUEEN’ PINKERTON: Vocals / Guitar
FRANCO ‘ THE COUNT’ VITTORE: Guitar
RONALD ‘ THE PLAGUE DOCTOR’ LANZILOTTA: Bass
JOSHUA ‘ THE DRUID’ STRMIC: Drums