The Best Metal Album of 2025 gets a high-quality zoetrope animation version. A bright, detailed collectible for music lovers! A riff-laden compendium of mystical creatures and cautionary tales from a world forgotten, 'The Bestiary' casts forth 13 allegorical tales of mythic beasts and the Wizard who brings them together, weaving powerful heavy anthems and dark enchantments to create a bewitching and unforgettable odyssey.
Emerging from New York's vile, creature-infested underground, fantasy heavy metal purveyors CASTLE RAT present their sophomore album 'The Bestiary', as a high-quality zoetrope animation version!
Since their formation in 2019, CASTLE RAT have created a vivid labyrinth of fantasy lore led by "The Rat Queen" aka Riley Pinkerton. Together with "The Count," "The Plague Doctor" and "The All-Seeing Druid", the group has carried out countless battles against "The Rat Reaperess" with riffs, swords and spells on stages across the country.
Recorded by Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Wolves in the Throne Room, Björk) and mixed by Jonathan Nuñez (Torche, Restless Spirit), the band's latest odyssey features 13 spellbinding tracks of epic carnage and mystical metal.
Commenting on the album, The Rat Queen states: "'The Bestiary' is a conceptual book of beasts containing a collection of mystical creatures from a world forgotten. The last remaining souls of each have been gathered and preserved by 'The Wizard.' Cautionary tales of each beast and The Wizard himself are woven through the power of traditional heavy metal song and spell."
'The Bestiary' Zoetrope comes in semi-rigid transparent PVC sleeve with flap!