Castle Rat Let Their Newest Single “The Serpent” Loose on the World
If you like your heavy metal bands to be more groovy, medieval and sword-swinging excitement than crush-your-skull-in heavy, you might want to check out the fantasy heavy metal outfit Castle Rat. They’ve got a new album coming out this September titled The Bestiary and earlier today they unleashed their latest single, “Serpent”.
Now, if you’ve been following the band along with us, you not these guys are cool as hell. Yes, they’ve got the type of Dungeons & Dragons aesthetic that would have thrilled the shit out of Dio, but don’t let that look fool you. These guys peddle in some down and dirty heavy metal, replete with fuzzy riffs and lore-laden lyricism.
Speaking of the new single, guitarist and vocalist Riley Pinkerton (The Rat Queen) explained what went into the new track:
“With ‘SERPENT’, we wanted to explore the iconography of the snake—not just as a symbol of danger or deceit, but as a tragic figure, misunderstood and cast out. There’s a tantalizing quality to the song; it’s seductive and sympathetic all at once. The drums are bombastic, the tempo pushes toward this near-march that’s as danceable as it is headbang-worthy. We leaned into synth textures more prominently this time, adding a layer of eerie elegance to the chaos. It’s slithering, it’s sharp—it’s the serpent’s side of the story.”
The Bestiary will be released on September 19 via King Volume Records. If you’d like to preorder the album, you can do so here if you’re in the U.S. or Blues Funeral Recordings in the U.K. and Europe.
As for their upcoming tour dates, they’ll begin playing venues across the U.S. plans on September 5 in Boston, with that particular run of shows coming to an end on October 5 in Brooklyn, New York. A couple weeks later, they’ll begin a tour in Europe. So if you’d like to catch Castle Rat live, be sure to check out the list of dates below.
THE BESTIARY TRACKLIST
- PHOENIX I: Ardent
- WOLF I: Tooth & Blade
- WIZARD: Crystal Heart
- SIREN: The Pull of Promise
- UNICORN: Carnage and Ice
- PATH OF MOSS
- CRYSTAL CAVE: Enshrined
- SERPENT: Coiled Figure
- WOLF II: Celestial Beast
- DRAGON: Lord of The Sky
- SUMMONING SPELL
- SUN SONG: Behold The Flame
- PHOENIX II: Cinerous
Castle Rat tour dates
Fall US tour 2025
Sep 5 – Boston, MA – Sonia
Sep 6 – Elizabethtown, NY – Otis
Sep 7 – Montreal, QC – Piranha Bar
Sep 8 – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
Sep 9 – Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups
Sep 10 – Chicago, IL – Reggies
Sep 12 – Kansas City, MO – The Ship
Sep 13 – Colorado Springs, CO – What’s Left Fest
Sep 14 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
Sep 16 – Seattle, WA – Clockout Lounge
Sep 17 – Portland, OR – Star Theater
Sep 18 – Austin, TX – Fantastic Fest
Sep 20 – Berkeley, CA – Cornerstone
Sep 21 – Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon
Sep 22 – San Diego, CA – The Casbah
Sep 23 – Phoenix, AZ – Last Exit
Sep 24 – Albuquerque, NM – Sister
Sep 27 – Houston, TX – Last Concert
Sep 28 – New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa
Sep 30 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl
Oct 1 – Asheville, NC – Eulogy
Oct 2 – Raleigh, NC – Chapel of Bones
Oct 3 – Charlottesville, VA – Southern Cafe
Oct 4 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
Oct 5 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
European Tour Dates
Oct 16 – Prague, CZ – Cafe V Lese
Oct 17 – Leipzig, DE – Werk 2
Oct 18 – Arnhem, NL – Willemeen
Oct 19 – Antwerp, BE – Desertfest
Oct 21 – Cologne, DE – Volta
Oct 22 – Aschaffenburg, DE – Colos-saal
Oct 23 – Berlin, DE – Lido
Oct 24 – Copenhagen, DE – Copenhell Metal Cruise
Oct 25 – Copenhagen, DE – Copenhell Metal Cruise
Oct 27 – Hamburg, DE – Indra
Oct 28 – Karlsruhe, DE – Stadtmitte
Oct 30 – Barcelona, ES – Upload
Oct 31 – Lyon, FR – Les Subs
Nov 1 – Vellet, FR – Westill Festival
Nov 2 – Lille, FR – La Bulle Cafe
Nov 4 – Brighton, UK – Concorde 2
Nov 5 – Bristol – Lost Horizon
Nov 6 – London, UK – Electric Ballroom
Nov 7 – Nottingham, UK – Bodega
Nov 8 – Manchester, UK – Damnation Festival
