|
Castle Rat is what we here at EvilSponge
refer to as "a schtick band". That is to say –
the band has a schtick that they are
performing, and the music is actually
secondary to the schtick. Kiss was a shtick
band. So were The Causey Way. Hopefully that
helps you put this into perspective.
The schtick of Castle Rat is that they are
characters in some sort of fantasy world. When
you look a their BandCamp page, they list
"Maddy Wright – The Rat Reapress (Live
shows)". Maddy is the villain to their rats. I
guess. The schtick might make a lot more sense
if you see the band perform live, which i have
not.
However, the music actually shines through
the schtick. Sure, they are rat characters in
a fantasy world, but they are also a heavy
metal band, channeling the early metal of the
1980s. There is a real Dio-era back sabbath
feel here. The songs are slow, sludgey,
bluesy, heavy. Vocalist and Rat Queen Riley
Pinkerton has a rich voice that reminds me a
little of Lita Ford or Pat Benatar, but she
can also really wail then she wants to.
It's an interesting combination, and I find
the music pretty engaging even if the schtick
is kind of lost on me, as someone who is just
listening to the tunes (and often not paying
full attention to the lyrics...).
Standout tracks include Dagger Dragger,
which opens the record and sets the tone:
echoed voice, pounding rhythm, and loud
guitar. Plague Doctor (aka, Ronnie Lanzilotta
III) gives us a one minute bass solo called Resurrector.
You don’t often get full bass solos like this,
and Lanzilotta does a good job.
Red Sands builds to a real frenzy with
a great instrumental bridge, and there is a
blistering guitar solo on Nightblood
However, Cry For Me lets Pinkerton
shine. The song is a metal ballad (raise your
lighter, everyone), and she lets loose here,
really wailing away dramatically.
But there isn't a bad tune here. Castle Rat
manage to channel that old Sabbathy 70s metal
sound. I mean, in a way all Doom Metal is just
Black Sabbath cosplay, but this band really
takes me back to the sense of wonder i felt
watching Dio videos back in the day. It's the
natural half-way point between Dungeons and
Dragons and music.
If you remember that fantasy-laced metal
fondly, then you need to check out Castle Rat.
|
