The Night I Watched Thousands of People Discover Castle Rat

My journey from cramped club shows to watching the Rat Queen conquer an arena crowd

When I first discovered Castle Rat — a Scroll Stopper before I even had my YouTube channel — I described them to friends as “a Frank Frazetta painting that came to life and started a heavy metal band with riffs that rival Black Sabbath.” That was early 2025.

But let me back up.

On March 23, 2025, I went with friends to see Orions Belte at Johnny Brenda’s,…