The Bestiary

The Artist

Castle Rat is a Brooklyn-based doom metal quartet fronted by Riley Pinkerton, who performs as the theatrical "Rat Queen" at the center of the band's medieval fantasy mythology. Emerging from New York's underground metal scene in the early 2020s, the group built a devoted following through elaborate live rituals featuring costumed characters like the Count, the Druid, and the Plague Doctor. Their sound fuses classic doom worship in the vein of early Sabbath and Pentagram with witchy folk melodies, riff-heavy grooves, and Pinkerton's clear, haunting vocals. After a series of buzzed-about singles and EPs, The Bestiary arrived in 2024 as their debut full-length, translating their theatrical world into a fully realized studio statement.

The Album

The Bestiary was released in May 2024 on King Volume Records, produced with a warm, vintage sensibility that leans on analog textures and unpolished edges rather than modern digital sheen. Recorded with a live-band feel to capture the ritualistic energy of Castle Rat's stage show, the album showcases riffs from guitarist Bob Pantella and a rhythm section that favors slow, hypnotic swing over technical flash. The record functions as a loose song cycle chronicling the Rat Queen's journey through a fantasy realm populated by wolves, wizards, sirens, and dragons. Beneath the sword-and-sorcery imagery run themes of mortality, transformation, seduction, and reclaiming feminine power in a world built to consume it.

Listen For

Bookended structure. Notice how "PHOENIX I" opens the record and "PHOENIX II" closes it, framing the entire journey as a cycle of death and rebirth.

Vocal duality. Pinkerton shifts between airy, folk-inflected singing and fuller, commanding doom delivery. Track how she chooses each mode depending on the character she's inhabiting.

Riff worship. Listen to how "WIZARD" and "SERPENT" build around slow, chugging central riffs that repeat and mutate rather than resolving into traditional choruses.

Interlude as atmosphere. "PATH OF MOSS" and "SUMMONING SPELL" function as breathers, using acoustic textures and ambience to reset the album's pacing between heavier tracks.

Bright melody in dark clothing. Songs like "SUN SONG" and "UNICORN" carry surprisingly hummable, almost pop-adjacent vocal hooks buried inside doom arrangements.