“Now is forever… In this Realm!”
Castle Rat took Toronto into an epic, mystical journey when they played at Lee’s Palace this past Monday, September 8th. Come with us as we defend The Realm.
A cast of characters known as the Count (guitarist, Franco Vitorre), the All-Seeing Druid (drummer, Josh Strmic), the Plague Doctor (bassist, Ronnie Lanzilotta III) and the Rat Queen (lead singer and guitarist, Riley Pinkerton) make up the band, who take audiences on a journey every night in order to protect the book known as The Bestiary. The book protects The Realm and all its creatures, with Castle Rat swearing to protect the book. No story is complete without a villain, our villain is known as the Rat Reaperess – death incarnate, attempting to steal the book and all of its mystical powers. The show ends in an epic slow mo battle between the Rat Queen and Rat Reaperess. Spoiler alert: the Rat Queen does win, but the pageantry of the performance is something to behold. 
The costumes and makeup were elaborate with so many details that you wouldn’t notice at first glance. Such as the Druids one blue contact or the Count’s silver fangs. As for the music, if the awesome guitar solos or the Rat Queen’s (Riley Pinkerton) voice don’t pull you in, then I don’t know what will. It was honestly, quite hypnotizing during some moments. Getting to see the fans becoming absolutely immersed in their sound is a testament to the band’s talent and creativity. It’s been a long time since I stood in the audience in awe of a new artist. Castle Rat can easily climb the reins to be the next best fantasy/doom metal band for the next generation of metalheads. Indiana band Faerie Ring opened and they melted the faces off of the audience. There weren’t many vocals so the guitars sang to the audience and it was glorious. The lead guitar was rigged to make smoke so it’s needless to say that the band was on fire. 
Castle Rat’s sophomore album The Bestiary is set for release this coming Friday (September 19th) so keep an eye out for that. The band will be continuing to defend The Realm on their North American tour over the next few weeks and is scheduled to conclude on October 5th in Brooklyn, New York. Then they beckon Europe and the UK in the latter half of October. Take your peak inside The Realm with our exclusive photo gallery from the show at Lee’s Palace in Toronto. Plus, make sure to follow the band @castle.rat to see where their journeys lay next.
Article & Photos by San Veliz (@spacemanmediaproductions)
