RAT BATH - "RAT FROM HELL"

The wait is over. Spooky-Country Rock band Rat Bath are finally releasing their first LP album and with it comes a tidal wave of carnage, country rock, and bloodbath. “Rat From Hell” delivers the much anticipated, overcoming story of a witch and scars endured.

This 11 track collection offers a brutal rollercoaster of heavy, soft, and plain-old rampaging emotions. As you might know, Rat Bath has been working on the creation of a story based on past experiences. A witch whose powers are rendered useless when a demon appears in their home having been paid to capture them by a past abuser.

“Rat From Hell” tells the story, chapter by chapter, of the epic clash between these two opposing forces. Fighting, being captured, nearly falling in love with the demon, escaping it, and ultimately defeating it, this witch is pulled into a quest of healing and self-love.

“The demon, described to have X’s for eyes and a scribbled-on smile, is the personification of trauma and all the different ways it can manifest in one’s life.”

You will find heavily Country influenced tracks mixed with hints of metal and folk. Starting with highly energetic tracks such as “The Tale Of Dead Ol’ Fred”, “Bone Eater”, and “Coke Dealer”, the album slows down the pace and increases the emotion in “At Least You’re Lonely Too”.

From there on, we can find some of their past single releases such as “Rag-doll” and “Meat Poppet“, as well as the finishing tracks that give the album an explosive, violent, and ultimately touching ending. Written by Fred Kenyon and Cora Bequeaith, “Rat Bath” counts with the performances of Róisín Shields and Emmett Roehr. With additional features of Phoenix Lehner (bass and vocals), and Johanna Rose (Track 9).

I had a very interesting Q&A with the guys from Rat Bath, topics like the origin of their name and the background story of how they came to create their “Spooky Country Core” sound made the list. You can read it right here, only in Less Than 1000…

1.- Hi guys, congratulations on your first album! First of all, I’d like to know more about your band’s name, as well as the album’s title. What inspired you to come up with them? They do sound pretty cool!

“Thank you! Our band was named in honor of vocalist Fred Kenyon’s pet rat, Ratthew, who at the time needed a bath. Not too deep… but it rolls off the tongue!

This lead to the use of rats as symbolism in the cathartic track Sweet Puppet where the lyrics states “Can’t you see? The ritual is me; I am a rat from hell, sent for your teeth!”

The album was originally titled Fred Ain’t Dead Yet as a play on the first track title The Tale of Dead Ol Fred, however, prior to recording we collectively agreed Rat From Hell was a better-suited title.”

2.- Whose idea was it to blend Country music with Metal? I’m sure it must have been a lot of fun to come up with ideas and blend them together. It isn’t something you hear every day, I’m curious about how you come up with such an idea! Ha!

“Fun fact: we originally formed as a My Chemical Romance country cover band in an attempt to prove a point that Black Parade is an album with notable country elements. It was sort of settling an argument in favor of the band’s founders Fred Kenyon and Cora Bequeaith. After performing our cover set for a local charity in 2019, we decided to build off this new blended genre and perfect the sound that we now describe as “Spooky Country Core.”

3.- In the album, the story ends with the witch defeating the demon and turning up victorious. I’m aware that the story is based on past experiences. Do you find yourselves identified with the witch’s victory and healing? Did the album serve as some kind of catharsis for you?

“You’re correct, the album is based closely on our vocalist’s own experiences with abuse and healing from it. In fact, the witch is even named after Fred.

The demon serves as a personification of trauma and the many ways it manifests in one’s life. The witch learns that they can only defeat the demon if they face their past and heal. This album was not only an avenue to healing but a method of giving power back to survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence.“

4.- What comes next for you as a band? After the release of your album, I’d imagine you’re wishing to play it live!

“We are very excited for our album release party at Cactus Club in Milwaukee on Feb 18! In addition, we will be completing a small regional tour in support of the release and plan to embark on a national tour in 2022.“

5.- Anything else you want to add?

“We are a band made up entirely of trans individuals. As such, we strive for inclusivity in the scene and reclaim queer-coded “villainous” characters (i.e. the witch) as protagonists. It was very rare for us to see positive trans and queer representation in media growing up; as artists we hope to change that.“

Remember to follow Rat Bath on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Spotify. If you enjoy their music and are able to provide monetary support, you might consider downloading it on Bandcamp.

It also helps to stream and share their music; you can obviously find it in the following Playlists: Less Than 1,000 Followers, Fresh Singles, Alterindie State Of Mind, 12 New Songs This Week, Only Punk, and Sickest & Dopest.

Remember that you can always find me here Linktree MadZen for all my social media and music.

P.S. If you enjoy discovering new artists and fresh new music you can subscribe to this blog Less Than 1,000 Followers and follow the Playlist with all the artists that we have presented here!