Describing the opening breakdown of “It Isn’t Clean” as earth-shattering is an understatement — in the context of the incubus imagery and foreboding, drop-tuning guitars that characterize this five minute night ride, it’s better described as a hell opening incantation. The debut single by occult-embracing, 70s metal-inspired quartet Castle Rat well demonstrates the bands proclivity towards the old masters, drawing equal parts from the black magic and lyrical subject matters of Sabbath with an eye for the performative panache of KISS. Frontwoman Riley “The Rat Queen” Pinkerton embeds a healthy level of glam into her mic-ripping performance, backed by instrumentation that remains consistently doom-y, yet progressive enough to never get bogged down in sludge. Recommended for fans of hair metal or Ari Aster’s Hereditary, stream our premiere of the track below, and see Castle Rat tonight at Baby’s All Right, supporting Stonefield. Photo by Jessica Gurewitz
