I became aware of Castle when I received a promo for their latest album “Blacklands”, a tight collection of female-fronted hard rock steeped in the tradition of early heavy metal. The band was listed as being from San Francisco, so it was a bit of a surprise when the next time I saw them mentioned it was on the 2013 Juno nominees list in the Metal/Hard Rock category.
Recently Castle passed through Toronto’s Lee’s Palace on their tour with The Sword, and I had a chance to speak with guitarist Mat Davis so we could clear up the Canadian connection, and also discuss the band’s sound in context with the glut of traditional rock and metal bands currently being signed and promoted.