Castle Rat’s triumphant return to Chapel of Bones delivered a heroic and theatrical spectacle of epic proportions, once again expanding and defending the Realm.
Chapel of Bones is a small 200-ish person venue that serves as a coffee shop during the day, home to all genres of metal performances at night. On a beautiful October evening, the line to enter Chapel of Bones formed early and wrapped around the corner nearly two hours before showtime. Everyone was eager to welcome a returning metal hero, a savior of our realm. The Rat Queen had returned!
Local metal act Road Head opened the evening to a very full venue. So full, the band acknowledged halfway through the set that “there are so many of you. It’s intimidating.” With no sign of stage fright in sight, Road Head tore through a six-song set that lived up to their self-proclaimed “NC motorpunx” title. A power trio with the energy and tempo of an 1980s punk band, Road Head stuck with one tempo for the full set; fast. Echoing a little Motorhead and a little Husker Du in their songwriting and performance, the setlist included “Molotov,” “Stitched Up,” and closed with a new song, “Hog Cranker.” Limited to the front of the very full stage, Road Head delivered the adrenaline jolt everyone hoped for to kick off the evening…