The Bestiary CD + Vernal Dawn LP

Castle Rat is a Medieval Fantasy Heavy Metal band hailing from NYC, led by The Rat Queen, Riley Pinkerton, on rhythm guitar and lead vocals. On her mission to expand and defend The Realm from those who seek to destroy it, The Rat Queen is joined by The Count Franco Vittore, on lead guitar and backing vocals The Plague Doctor Charley Ruddell, on bass and The AllSeeing Druid Josh Strmic on drums. Together they face the relentless wrath of their archnemesis Death, Herself The Rat Reaperess.Along their journey, Castle Rat have played in support of Monolord SE, Acid King CA, Green Lung UK, and appeared at Festivals including Desertfest NYC, RPM Fest and Hopsmoker, among others.Since the bands preplagued inception in October 2019, Castle Rat have released their debut album, Into The Realm with King Volume Records in April 2024, which has racked up over one million Spotify streams and held the post as the 1 BestSelling Hard RockAlt Rock Album on Bandcamp upon its release.The band has cultivated a fiercely loyal following by curating a riveting, interactive, loreladen live performance, complete with a choreographed battle scene, recruiting fans who crave swords amp sorcery stoner amp doom battlebabes amp beasts Frazette amp Sabbath.2025 began with an explosive start. Castle Rat launched a recordbreaking Kickstarter to fund their second album, fully funding the campaign in just 37 minutes. The monthlong fundraiser went on to be the most successful metal Kickstarter in over a decade, closing out at 139k. Just days after the campaign, the band entered the studio to record their second album with producer Randall Dunn Sunn O, Wolves in the Throne Room, Bjrk. Following two sold out tours in late 2024, the band undertook a headlining US tour in March 2025, with a six week stint in Europe featuring numberous festival appearances including Desertfest, Hellfest, and Copenhell.Castle Rats second full length album, The Bestiary, was released in late 2025 and received mass critical acclaim launching the band into unprecedented realms of heavy music.