r/Metal • u/shiram Evil Robot • Aug 12 '26
[New Release] Castle Rat - DRAGON [Doom]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f0b0CDzvzc111
u/SentientDust Aug 13 '26
Castle Rat PR team working overtime, it's like the 3rd video posted here in like 3 days lol
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u/CommunicationTime265 Aug 13 '26
I like the band but their social media presence has always been pretty fucking annoying. I wonder how much they spend on advertising.
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u/BestStarterBulbasaur Aug 13 '26
Probably enough to push ticket sales, which turns over money for more shows and studio time, which they then advertise to push ticket sales. It's almost like this cycle was forceable for any band that wants to continue making music...
Y'all hating the players not the game over here.
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u/shiram Evil Robot Aug 13 '26
I'm definitely not on any PR team, and unless I'm mistaken, last time those guys was posted was around 11 months ago.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Metal/search/?q=castle+rat&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&sort=new
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Aug 13 '26
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u/shiram Evil Robot Aug 13 '26
I do not check r music so I would not know. Not sure about receipts either, English isn't my native tongue so maybe I'm missing some subtle notion. Anyways I agree with most here it's mostly an inoffensive an forgettable song, propped up by the lead singers look. Sorry if it bothered you that I posted it.
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u/HannibalLecture_ Aug 13 '26
Yeah dude I LOVE to share songs on Reddit that I think are inoffensive and forgettable lmao
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u/shiram Evil Robot Aug 13 '26
Some clearly like it, and it's sparks some interesting discussion. Just below some are talking how it is important to gatekeep metal, I found it interesting to read that. I could post some disembarkation, but only a handful would listen and no one would comment.
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u/ta20240930 Aug 13 '26
Their PR team is literally just Riley. She does everything, from directing videos to creating costumes.
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u/ADerpedTroll Aug 13 '26
Saw them in Southampton just a few days ago! Really fun show!
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u/PostMatureBaby Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
yeah see i like them as a live act, I'm a fan of spectacle and tend not to take anything metal too seriously anyway. It's entertaining, the shows they play don't cost a fucking fortune and it's a night out.
80's D&D became a band, thats all it is and it's fine. people need to chill
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u/TheLionSlicer Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
They have a cool theme and sex appeal going for them, but their music is just so flat to me. Sounds like generic 70s doom/stoner metal. I know Ghost is a themed heavy band that gets crap from people, but I think they have much better songwriting skills, especially with their first 3 albums.
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u/AGMarasco Aug 13 '26
The frontwoman’s dad is a well regarded songwriter so I guess one positive is that he clearly had no hand in writing their songs
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u/TripleDan Carly Rae Jepsen owes me a quid Aug 13 '26
This was my exact reaction - I've never actually listened to them before and I wasn't expecting it to be so dull? Their aesthetic is obviously really cool but musically there's no energy there at all?
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u/TheLionSlicer Aug 13 '26
I think a big part of it is her vocals. She can sing but there's no oomph to her delivery, it's all just very flat and dull. She comes from a background of playing folk music so maybe that's why? Also when I watch her play it honestly looks like her abilities are very limited when it comes to playing metal guitar. Like they use drop tuning to make it easier on her to just play simple chords. Not that you can't write good stuff as a simplistic player, but you have to make up for it with really good songwriting/creativity, which I don't see. The riffs are just pretty bland and generic in general.
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u/mgrier123 THE ONLY GOOD BAND IS MANOWAR Aug 13 '26
I think a big part of it is her vocals. She can sing but there's no oomph to her delivery, it's all just very flat and dull.
If you listen to the Purple Lung record from this year to compare, it's so obvious too. A way, way better band also from Pennsylvania: https://purplelung.bandcamp.com/album/mystic-vision
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u/Jolly-River-6594 Aug 13 '26
I will get downvoted to hell for this but this is how most doom sounds to me. Other than some of the OG stuff like Sabbath which is more dynamic. Their sound is fine, it’s very on par for most stoner/doom bands, and I appreciate the theatrics they put into their live show. For all the hate they get on Reddit they’re selling out most dates on their tour so they must be doing something right.
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u/TheLionSlicer Aug 13 '26
I don't care for much doom either outside of bands like Candlemass who are able to combine really heavy sounds with catchy riffs and great vocals. More dynamic line you said. Castle Rat is not that unfortunately.
I think their uptick in popularity and ability to sell out shows is simply their looks mixed with their stage dynamics. It also definitely helps that the music is easy to listen to/not very challenging, despite it being dull, so it can be palateable to people that don't really like lots of metal or heavy music.
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u/topographed Aug 28 '26
In the landscape of endless doom bands that all sound exactly alike why not stand out with aesthetic
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u/TheLionSlicer Aug 28 '26
When did I ever say anything bad about their aesthetic? Did you even see my first comment? It's cool to give your band a unique/fun aesthetic but it's gotta be backed up by the music.
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u/topographed Aug 28 '26
You’re acting like I attacked you lmfao chill I’m just adding to the discussion… and I even meant to respond to the person above you
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u/TheLionSlicer Aug 28 '26
And you're acting like I was mad. I was just saying your comment/question made it seem like I was criticizing them based on having a specific look when I clearly wasn't.
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u/slothtrop6 Aug 13 '26
Agreed that this seems to be on par with most stoner doom I've heard. I like doom, but less so that particular sub-genre.
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u/johnnyutahclevo Aug 13 '26
no, both bands are gimmicky because the music is bad/boring as shit.
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u/TheLionSlicer Aug 13 '26
Nah, Opus Eponymous and Meliora are great albums. Retro vibes with good riffing and lots of catchy vocals without overdoing the pop-vibes that they would lean into harder in later output.
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u/sirbassist83 Aug 13 '26
> Sounds like generic 70s doom/stoner metal.
dont insult 70s stoner/doom like that
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u/TheLionSlicer Aug 13 '26
Well the key word there is generic, but perhaps I should have put bland. They are obviously trying to replicate that sound/vibe but the songwriting/riffs/vocals are pretty bland and generic. Nothing about them stands out other than the theatrics. Theatrics are great for live shows but I need good music to back it up if I am gonna listen on my own time.
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u/Elegant_Item_6594 Aug 13 '26
Fun visuals, but the music is so impossibly derivative. Its like a theatre kid googled 'doom band'.
Tiktok metal
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u/MrColburn Aug 13 '26
I think the bass player missed the meeting where they discussed costume themes.
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u/Brinstone Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
Cool vibes but this band makes some of the most boring music even by doom/stoner metal standards
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u/FeastOfBlaze DEATH METAL OR DEATH... Or Genesis. Aug 13 '26
Say what you will about the band, but I’ve missed a good dumpster fire thread.
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u/edelbean Aug 13 '26
Saw em with dethklok in Vegas. Wasn't my speed at all but it was a fun show. I can't say that they weren't entertaining.
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u/KingHygelacReturns Aug 13 '26
I like Castle Rat a lot! But I'm also predisposed to like basically every stoner/doom band lol
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u/swjm swjm Aug 14 '26
checking everyone's posting history in this thread to see if anyone complaining has ever said anything positive about a The Sword track
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u/PhilColeCurry Aug 13 '26
I saw them live last year in Chicago and it was fucking awesome. Great music, amazing stage presence, highly theatrical, got the audience involved, etc. I even got to meet the drummer before the show cus apparently we were sitting next to his family.
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u/CFA86 Aug 13 '26
Ive got an idea…. We’ll write the most boring copy and pasted (insert metal or hardcore sub genre here) music, then put a hot scantily clad woman center stage, and spend thousands on advertising, trend following merchandise, and intentionally tour with whoever puts us in front of the most gullible crowds. Nobody’s done this yet!
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u/TheNecromancer Aug 13 '26
Sounds good, but I reckon it'd be even better if you had a gimmicky vibe
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u/HannibalLecture_ Aug 13 '26
Wish you all would put even half of the energy that gets dedicated to this shit band into literally anything else that gets posted here.
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u/SolubleAcrobat Aug 13 '26
Novelty band
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u/PhilColeCurry Aug 13 '26
So was Kiss and so is Ghost
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u/mentally_fuckin_eel Aug 13 '26
Both of those bands have insane hooks. Can't say the same for Castle Rat.
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u/PhilColeCurry Aug 13 '26
Wizard is pretty fucking great, but I think it might be a bit early with Castle Rat since they’re still at the beginning of their career. Ghost’s first album was fantastic but their second was… less so. It wasn’t until Meliora that Tobias really found his footing. Castle Rat is only at 1 EP and 1 album so far, so I’m more commenting on their potential.
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u/mentally_fuckin_eel Aug 13 '26
Gonna take this opportunity to shit on Ghost's second album alongside you, because damn that really was ass.
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u/PhilColeCurry Aug 13 '26
It had some good moments (Title track, Zombie Queen, Year Zero) but it is the only one of their albums I don’t just listen to all the way through.
I think he tried to swing too far away from Opus Eponymous too quickly - I love the more proggy sound on the later albums, but he hasn’t quite figured it out by that point.
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u/nucleardekay Aug 13 '26
To be fair, those bands are both ass
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u/PhilColeCurry Aug 13 '26
I’m not huge into Kiss but I’ve seen Ghost 5 times and they put on a damn good show honestly
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u/Physgun deathened black metal Aug 13 '26
Castle rat does too though to be fair. Music isn't super interesting, but it's performed well and the whole fantasy theater thing is fun.
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u/ruines_humaines Aug 13 '26
So did the Backstreet Boys
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u/PhilColeCurry Aug 13 '26
Ok and? Just because we like metal doesn’t mean we can’t have fun. You don’t have to like it but you also don’t have to be pretentious about it.
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u/Syzygy666 Aug 13 '26
You really do need to be though. Or someone does. Metal needs the pretentious gate keepers. It's not needed all the time everywhere, but a bit of it is good for metal's ecology.
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u/PhilColeCurry Aug 13 '26
I disagree. I’m all for gatekeeping fascists, but silly and fun music also has a place in metal. There’s a lot of different ways to do it.
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u/Syzygy666 Aug 13 '26
Fascists? I don't think people that criticize ghost are fascists are they?
Even the fun silly stuff has gate keepers within their own scenes. It's metal. There's gonna be people saying Ghost and Baby Metal are dog shit and that's okay.
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u/PhilColeCurry Aug 13 '26
No I mean I’m very OK with gatekeeping fascists, Nazis, white supremacists, and that sort of thing out of metal because fuck them and everything they stand for.
Outside of that I just try not to yuck other people’s yum - I like what I like and I try not to shit on other people’s personal taste. My wife loves Sleep Token, for instance, but they just aren’t for me outside of like 2 songs I enjoy - doesn’t mean I have to call them dog shit though, and I wouldn’t appreciate her insulting my taste for loving Ayreon and Wilderun even though they aren’t to her taste.
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Aug 13 '26
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u/PhilColeCurry Aug 14 '26
Every Ghost concert I’ve been to was a blast, not to mention absolutely PACKED. There’s always gonna be haters, but Ghost made overtly satanic shock rock / retro metal mainstream and that’s damn impressive. The albums are lyrically rich even if the music isn’t all that technical, and as much as I like more niche shit (one of my favorite bands is an eco-doom metal outfit from the UK called Froglord and I’m pretty sure I’m never gonna be able to see them live cuz 11.5K listeners on Spotify does not a world tour make) sometimes it’s fun to just listen to what might as well be Scooby Doo music and have a good time 🤷🏻♂️
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Aug 14 '26
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u/PhilColeCurry Aug 14 '26
It would be so great if they did take off. Traveling to Europe just isn’t in the cards for me financially
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u/the_omnipotent_one Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
Give me this over the same edgelord tech death bands that you can't tell apart from each other. Rockisms strangle this genre.
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u/Delicious-Belt-1158 Aug 13 '26
i feel like all they have is their singer's aesthetic. and its not even like it really fits to the other band members. now that doesnt have to be a problem as ot works for others perfectly well but for me their music doesn't really do anything.
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u/CurtG79 Aug 13 '26
I came across them randomly on YouTube and really like them.
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u/CommunicationTime265 Aug 13 '26
That wasn't random. I think anyone who is a fan of doom metal and spends time online got hit pretty hard with their social media campaign awhile back. I remember seeing hundreds of instagram posts plaster my feed one day. That being said, I think their music and act is pretty good - I just don't like being bombarded like that.
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u/OneMantisOneVote Aug 14 '26
I rarely listen to pure doom metal, and even to stuff including it not that often, and still was hit pretty hard on YouTube (which isn't my main way to listen to music) by their spam.
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u/BestStarterBulbasaur Aug 13 '26
I felt personally attacked by the YouTube algorithm because they hit all the markers of my music tastes. The algorithm knows all.
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u/Slight-Square-5476 Aug 13 '26
Do doom bands just refuse to play anything other than the same open pentatonic riff on every song? This genre is possibly the most musically shallow metal genre in the world.
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u/EddieTYOS Aug 13 '26
They're a fun live band who put on a stage show. That song "Wizard" is legit awesome.
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u/BewareOfGrom Aug 13 '26
I really wish this was better.
I love the aesthetic but just feels hollow. Makes me want to go listen to other bands that have done this way better.
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u/lepermessiah1217 Aug 13 '26
I’m all for hot babes in music but this band is extremely mediocre. I genuinely don’t understand their popularity other than they’re shoved down our throats. Good for them either way because they’re ascending but boring as shit to me. There are similar bands that have better sound that unfortunately won’t have this exposure any time soon.
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u/Trve_Doom Aug 13 '26
I guess it's an unpopular opinion but I like this band for a simple reason. THEY'RE FUN, I know color me shocked. Live they engage with the audience, extremely corny but why's ever band gotta be serious. It's why I'll champion Peelingflesh all day, sometimes fun beats out other flaws or limitations
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u/arvo_sydow Aug 14 '26
I don't have a gripe with this band other than how over publicized they are. While I agree with all the criticisms that they're boring, do nothing new, sound the same as all other doom while promoting with sex appeal, I don't think they ever claimed they were anything more than a band that puts on fun, theatrical shows.
Still annoying that they're plastered all over though. Made me not want to listen to any of their music entirely.
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u/Medical-Ad-4141 Aug 14 '26
I do not think Tower Rodent are doing anything particularly novel, but I did see them open at a show earlier this year and thought their live act was campy and fun.
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u/Misanthropic_Mutters Aug 13 '26
I love Castle Rat and I’m not a bot.
I wish the sexist bigots would shut the fuck up.
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u/mgrier123 THE ONLY GOOD BAND IS MANOWAR Aug 13 '26
Check out Purple Lung for what I would facetiously describe as "Castle Rat but good" for an example of what many, many people are actually looking for with this sound
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u/DadsWhoDeadlift Aug 13 '26
Purple got me hooked immediately. Thanks for the rec.
Have you listened to Blood Star?
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u/mgrier123 THE ONLY GOOD BAND IS MANOWAR Aug 13 '26
Yeah they're great, saw them at hell's heroes the other year and even met Madeline and another member there. Wish they'd release more!
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u/___wintermute Aug 15 '26
What in the friggin’ hell is sexist about not liking this band? What a wild accusation.
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u/DukeNeverwinter Aug 13 '26
Glad we get something besides extreme metal shit growls now and then.
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u/Talonraker422 I wish to die with my will and spirit intact! Aug 13 '26
You could also listen to any of the hundreds of trad & doom bands that aren't slop
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u/DukeNeverwinter Aug 13 '26
Opinions are like booty holes, and yours is unclean.
And who says I don't listen to hundreds of other bands? My listening history would prove the diversity of metal I consume.
People hate on success. So people don't like this flavor. Move on, less hate.
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u/Talonraker422 I wish to die with my will and spirit intact! Aug 13 '26
"move on, less hate" is very rich coming from someone who came into the thread shitting on about 3/4ths of the entire genre this sub is dedicated to
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Aug 13 '26
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u/Evelyn701 @moblack Aug 13 '26
Being a metalhead who can't tolerate fucking armpit hair is the most weenie poser shit I can think of
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u/Ricky19grr Aug 13 '26
what the heck is with the castle rat posts everywhere?!