Castle Rat — Bloodstock Open Air, Catton Park, 2026

For its Bloodstock Open Air debut, New York band Castle Rat unleashes its theatrical doom metal on Catton Park’s Ronnie James Dio Stage in August 2026. Led by Riley Pinkerton, the “Rat Queen” on vocals and rhythm guitar, the quartet cultivates a heavy-metal fantasy world peopled with characters — “The Count” (Franco Vittore) on lead guitar, “The Plague Doctor” (Charley Ruddell) on bass and “The All-Seeing Druid” (Joshua Strmic) on drums. Onstage, the medieval staging, the heavy riffs drawn from the album “The Bestiary” and the dramatic clash between the Rat Queen and her nemesis make for a full set as visual as it is sonic. This filmed live capture, shot in broad daylight under the British festival’s scorching sun, illustrates the rise of a new doom generation replaying the genre’s epic imagery. A live concert to discover for fans of theatrical metal and massive riffs. Filmed as part of Bloodstock’s extensive festival coverage, this full set is a vivid introduction to a band turning doom metal into a complete theatrical spectacle, riffs and costumes alike.