The days of swords clashing in metal videos, when those were more of a thing, and charismatic singers who make the whole thing move seem like things of the past. Not that those things don’t exist anymore, it’s just that bands and artists who make their name including those elements seem to fly so far under the surface. It’s brutality over all.

Brooklyn-based metal force Castle Rat represent a sound and image that mostly are removed from so much modern heavy metal. The band—vocalist/guitarist Riley Pinkerton (Rat Queen), guitarist Franco Vittore (Count), bassist Ronnie Lanzilotta III (Plague Doctor), drummer Josh Strmic (The All-Seeing Druid)—zeroes in on classic metal and NWOBHM thunder on their great debut record “Into the Realm.” This feels like music that easily could have been sent here in a capsule from 1981, finding a new home in an era when this type of thing is not nearly as common. Pinkerton leading the group adds exuberant character and charisma, as it just drips off her. On top of that, their live shows are a theatrical display that would make Dio, King Diamond, and Maiden proud, as they play out the adventures of the Rat Queen on stage as their music pumps along with it.

“Dagger Dragger” is a killer opener, guitars swaggering and giving off a smoking vintage feel, Pinkerton’s singing swelling and commanding, making it absolutely certain who is in charge. There’s a Coven feel to all of this, and it’s intoxicating, the infectious darkness, the guitars that buzz with energy, and the singing that digs into your brain. “Feed the Dream” has guitars heating up and steamy singing, washing into echo and making your muscles shake. Guitars snake, encircling and blistering, and Pinkerton’s calls getting inside you, haunting your dreams. “Resurrector” is the rare bass-driven interlude you’re bound to hear, slinking into the shadows, reverberating through the earth. “Red Sands” brings guitars streaking as all sounds light up, trudging as the singing spreads, feeling witchy and bloody, the colorful sprawling flowing with force. Pinkerton’s singing  wails as the humidity clouds with force, blending out in noise.

“The Mirror” is a hypnotic interlude, the guitars steaming and slinking through your dreams, a psychedelic sheen plastered over the piece, moving into “Cry for Me” a track that opens with solemnity. “The freaks are out again,” Pinkerton calls, the playing building mystical intensity, the balladry bleeding brightly and putting a dusty edge on everything. “Got some feeling coming back,” she sings, a refrain that repeats through the back half, the track slowing bleeding out into time. “Realm” is the final interlude, a soot-black instrumental with ominous guitars and gathering clouds, moving into “Fresh Fur” that starts with a razor-sharp shriek and driving riffs. The tempo stomps and flexes, trudging into a strange cosmic warp, melting into psychedelic syrup. The singing is washed out, making it feel like water clearing from your ears, and then the guitars go off, causing smoke to billow toward the sky. Closer “Nightblood” opens in a doomy haze, Pinkerton’s singing crawling amid a gathering storm, the guitars tangling and tingling. The leads pick up and take off as the tempo scorches, Pinkerton’s singing mesmerizing, everything ending in a sonic blast.

The fantastical wonder behind “Into the Realm” is thick and real, a throwback record to a time when metal was in its formative years, and the mysteries were a little more shrouded in secrecy. Castle Rat bring back an element of wonder and storytelling, swords and shields, and bloody chainmail soaked after a hard battle. On top of that, the music is so compelling and such a good time that it’s easy to slip into the story and get carried away by the power of classic heavy metal.

For more on the band, go here: https://castleratband.bandcamp.com/album/into-the-realm-2

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://wisebloodrecords.bandcamp.com/

Or here (International): https://wisebloodrecords.8merch.com/

Or here (U.S.): https://kingvolume.8merch.us/

Or here (International): https://kingvolume.8merch.com/

For more on the label, go here: https://wisebloodrecords.com/

Or here: https://www.kingvolume.com/