(Live Review) CASTLE RAT / FAERIE RINGS / DEAD FEATHERS - Chicago, IL (9/10/25)
- Mark McQueen
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Greetings friends, fans, and followers and welcome to episode #82 of Beard Reviews. Coming off our monumental farewell concert from The Who, your hirsute reviewing host was back to the small venues as we headed to Chicago’s premier south side dive, and home for metal, Reggie’s. With me as always, the yang to my yin, the Costello to my Abbot, the pickles to my peanut butter sandwich, your favorite co-reviewer Little Johnny.
When I told him we were heading back out for a midweek metal show, as usual he wanted to know who was on the bill. “Castle Rat, Faerie Rings & Dead Feathers little dude.” At first he just stared at me like he wanted to determine if my recently acquired heart medication was having odd side effects, but then his little face brightened and he said, “Wait, wasn’t Castle Rat that role playing game band we saw in Houston at Hells Heroes?” Yes, it was. Good memory Johnny.”
After the usual fifty-mile drive that “always” takes two hours to traverse, we wound up in the entry line with a bunch of fans who had dressed the part of the Castle Rat characters. We saw versions of The Rat Queen, The Druid and The Count. We also saw “tonight sold out” on the marquee which for a Wednesday night was impressive. Seems Castle Rat has a dedicated audience. Once we got in, the Beard headed upstairs while Johnny immediately bought a turbodog IPA and started a chat with the woman at the merch table. I took off before he could ask for my credit card.
First up was Chicago Psyche/Doom act ...
DEAD FEATHERS
This five-piece band has had a couple releases, and I first ran into them several years ago. Surprisingly, they are still playing in opener slots, and I figured by now they would have moved up the bill some. Vocalist Marissa Allen had an okay voice even if it lacked power and authority.
Dead Feathers seemed to embrace a doom rock element mixed with a late sixty’s early seventies psyche rock style. The songs were mid length (4-6 minutes) and often mid-tempo. In certain elements or moods this music might be enjoyable, for example if I were walking in the woods with this on my headphones, I might find it fit perfectly. Unfortunately, in a sold-out crowd at Reggie’s, I was ready for it to be over before the thirty-five-minute set had concluded. Add to that the fact Dead Feathers played in mostly dark blue and green lighting which never really allowed the audience to see them well and you have another negative from my perspective. While I won’t bash them, I do feel they could be much more than they are. 74/100.
What did you think Johnny?
"I felt like maybe I should take a quick nap before those Castle Rat people came out. These guys were not for me Beard."
Next up was Evansville Indiana’s Stoner Doom act ...
FAERIE RINGS
As slow and dreamy as the Dead Feathers set was, Faerie Rings was going to be just the opposite. From the oddly coiffed and pink “Hello Kitty” guitar sporting vocalist James Wallwork, to Kyle Hulgus who less “played” his guitar as opposed to just jumping wildly about the stage while slapping at it in no particular rhythm, to the moonshiner from Deliverance looking bass player Alex Henerson, who often just looked blankly out at the crowd (possibly thinking about post set doughnuts), this band was out there.
Stoner rock allows for a certain amount of irregular tempo and structure and Faerie Rings embraced that in look and sound. Their set was a pseudo professional rendition of the misfit kids in your neighborhood banding together to put on a garage show. Judging by everything I have just said, either they are all in on the joke (ala Spinal Tap fans), or they “are” the joke, ala Spinal Tap themselves. Throughout their 45-minute set I just kept thinking “is this for real?”
Despite them being vastly different from Dead Feathers musically, I am giving Faerie Rings the same 74/100 grade.
"Let me guess Johnny, you like them?"
"Kind of. They reminded me of when at the orphanage, a bunch of us would do a talent show and we just used brooms and mops and sticks, you know, whatever we had and then played the music that was in our heads. Sometimes it was different music for each of us. This band made me think of that.”
Finally, it was time for the headliners. D&D inspired ...
CASTLE RAT
Coming just a year after their surprising break out debut Into the Realm, Castle Rat's odd swords and sorcery adventure continued with sophomore effort 2025’s The Beastiary.
Once more Riley Pinkerton, AKA The Rat Queen must protect her realm from the evil Madeline Wright (The Rat Reaperess.) Along the way, the Rat Queen seeks assistance from guitarist France Vitore (The Count), Bassist Charley Ruddlle (The Plague Doctor), and the mostly unseen Joshua Strmic (The Druid.)
Castle Rat thrives on the appearance of Pinkerton & Wright (who wear outfits that make Carrie Fischer's Return of the Jedi Jabba the Hut slave girl costume appear dowdy by comparison.) One in three male concertgoers probably could not tell me one thing about a single song played because they never took their eyes off Pinkerton & Wright.
I am not slamming them for it. It is fair game to use whatever assets you have to draw a paying audience, but Pinkerton's voice is not great. She draws from Pentagram style Bobby Leibling leanings and honestly, I never even cared that much when “he” was doing it. The songs themselves seemed like they might have been the ones Black Sabbath threw out as not good enough during the Never Say Die era. The drumming was largely uninspired, and the bass was just kind of there.
Now, some of you who read my columns regularly, (okay I agree that narrows it down to about seventeen of you worldwide), might say “But Beard, didn’t you grade Castle Rat super high at Hells Heroes in March?” Yes, yes I did. I walked in mid set, and was struck by the story going on, the scantily clad Pinkerton and Wright and the vehement crowd response to their set. I got swept up and I graded them far too generously as a result.
Now, they DID still sell out a Wednesday night at Reggie’s. They DID still enjoy vehement crowd response to what they did up there, and undoubtedly they DID make money (which is why anyone is up on that stage in the first place), so I WILL respect the crowd and the fact Castle Rat figured out something here that draws, but there are other bands that do it better. Last year, Owl Bear turned in a nice D&D set at the Legions of Metal festival. Glory Hammer, Windrose, Dragonforce, Alestorm, the list goes on. Point is there IS a market for what Castle Rat is doing, I do however feel if they want to headline four figure capacity stages, they need to get better musically at doing it. In seeing and hearing a complete set, I cannot in good conscious go better than 82/100.
To no surprise, (and regular readers will not be surprised either), Little Johnny had already caught up to Pinkerton and grabbed a nice photo with her in her “minimal” stage gear after the set. Once she recognized he was with the Beard, she raised an eyebrow and inclined her head slightly toward the merch table. Not knowing what Johnny might have told her, I bought a shirt and patch which kept a smile on her face and a thanks for supporting on her lips.
Although, I think the little walking hormone was secretly waiting for Wright to show up as well, I hooked his elbow and semi perp walked him outside before I had to buy anything more on his account. He grumpily muttered “Beard you’re a buzzkill. She was gonna give me her digits. Just cause you couldn’t close the deal with Doro or those Vixen chicks, don’t harsh my fun.”
Life goes on little dude. We have five more shows this month. There is always a next time.
And that wraps up Beard Reviews episode #82. Remember to follow us every Tuesday right here at your home for Metal, The Mighty Decibel. Catch all the videos on our TikTok page at thebeard0728 and of course follow Mark McQueen on social media for all the Beard Reviews episodic adventures. So, until next time this is the Beard & Little Johnny reminding you to “Live Life” “Stay Heavy” and “Horns Up.”
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