Castle – Deal Thy Fate

01. Can’t Escape The Evil
02. Skull In The Woods
03. Prelude
04. Hexenring
05. Wait For Dark
06. Deal Thy Fate
07. Haunted
08. Red Phantom
09. Firewind

Deal thy darkness.

After reviewing Evil Remains, the last work of Castle, I returned to Deal Thy Fate once more and remembered what a good record it is, so I will take the time to review it as well.

Castle, the San Francisco power trio, released this fifth record following the great Welcome To The Graveyard . At that time, I thought it was a tough album to surpass, but Deal Thy Fate is absolutely devastating. Castle’s sound is a blend of ‘70s hard heavy rock stepping into 80s doom metal, with strong influences from Chastain, especially their Mystery Of Illusion record.

Deal Thy Fate stands as a highlight in Castle’s discography. Mat Davis’s guitar work here was extraordinary; he is a brilliant riff maker, moving through his influences from classic rock to even Slayer, and his solos here were great too, continuing to improve his sound with every record. Liz Blackwell’s vocals were stronger than ever, maybe her best vocal performance; no longer tiring me as it did on previous albums, her voice sounds powerful, and the band really worked on harmonies and balancing highs and lows. Furthermore, her bass playing was as solid as her vocals, and a perfect complement to Chase Manhattan’s drumming, which was simple when needed but complex in the right moments: very well executed.

Deal Thy Fate opens with “Can’t Escape The Evil,” immediately grabbing attention with its riff and fuzzy sound. Liz’s voice, paired with Mat’s playing, creates a dark, well-forged sound. Tracks like “Skull In The Woods” and “Hexenring” carry that dark atmosphere throughout the album. “Wait For The Dark” brings tempo changes with obscure lyrics, blending doom and heavy metal. The title track, “Deal Thy Fate”, mixes ‘80s hard rock and metal with Castle’s signature elements, at times reminding me of a darker version of Pat Benatar’s voice, very well done. “Haunted” starts as a hard rock song but takes an unexpected turn midway, shifting into heavy doom. “Red Phantom” evokes a scary ’70s vibe, while “Firewind” is a slower, darker track with a strong melancholy feel.

Deal Thy Fate was recorded on May 2018 at Hallowed Halls Studio in Portland, Oregon. The production and mixing by Billy Anderson and Castle was very well done and fits with what the band aimed to project at this point; the cover art by Patrick Zoller was awesome too: scary, weird and mixing all the elements the band used in their lyrics.

Deal Thy Fate is a great doom/occult record, with touches of hard rock and traditional heavy metal. Beyond their influences, Castle sounds both classic and new, with just the right portion of darkness to stand out in a worn out and sometimes stale doom scene.