Casket Rats Unleash ‘Whiskey Queen’ with Raw Boston Firepower

STREET FIGHTS, SWEAT, AND ‘WHISKEY QUEEN’

A handshake’s a nice idea – until it isn’t. You don’t show up to a Casket Rats gig expecting manners. You come for the punch, the growl, the boots planted firm in dirty basement stages while amps bleed through the drywall. And Whiskey Queen, the latest riot from Boston’s hard rock ruffians, is just that: a sweaty, full-throttle blitz of riffs and grit, served with a side of middle fingers and reverence for the scene’s toughest queens. The guys arrive with this video-only release, and honestly, that suits it just fine.

The Rats – Brendan O’Hare, Goose, Keith Bennett, and Phil Slopak – don’t ease up. They’ve been thundering through Allston with the kind of sound that crawls under your nails. Their new video, directed by Justin Maloney, was filmed in the modest chaos of their Foster House practice bunker. It’s black-and-white, just grit and sweat. Just four guys doing what they were clearly built to do.

And me? I hit play with my morning coffee. Three seconds in, I swapped the mug for something with more burn. It’s the sound that reminds you your blood still runs hot.

THE GREASE, THE GLORY, AND THE RATS

Keith Bennett, who’s earned his stripes through Wrecking Crew, PanzerBastard, and Death Ray Vision, throws down vocals and bass lines like a man who’s had it with politeness. “It’s a greasy, sleazy rocker from a greasy, sleazy rock and roll band,” he says. And for once, that sentence feels less like promo copy and more like someone telling you how they’ve chosen to live.

The song itself bites. Thunder bass, raw vocals, and guitars that sound like they were dragged out of a swamp – well.. if swamps had distortion pedals. O’Hare calls the track a tribute to the women of rock who drink you under the table and then climb up to play your set better than you. No names. But if you’ve been there, you know.

DIRTY, SWEATY, AND ABSOLUTELY ALIVE

The video for Whiskey Queen doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not. Which is exactly the point. No drone shots, no slow-motion drama, no artsy cutaways to burning roses in bathtubs. Directed and produced by Justin Maloney, the black-and-white visual captures the Casket Rats in their natural habitat: Foster House, the kind of place where cables snake across the floor, sweat drips off the ceiling, and amps hum even when no one’s touching them.

As Keith Bennett puts it: “That’s our dirty, sweaty little practice space and those are our dirty, sweaty little carcasses playing a dirty, sweaty little banger.” Honestly? You couldn’t stage that kind of truth if you tried. The band wrote and performed Whiskey Queen themselves. The camera walks through the set like it pays rent there- part of the noise. And you can tell they’re all-in when Bennett says, “I don’t think Bergman or Fellini are too worried about us stealing their thunder.” Good. Thunder’s overrated. This one rumbles from the gut.

Is Whiskey Queen about someone in particular? That depends. “It totally is,” says O’Hare with a subtle grin I could hear through the press notes. A chaotic romance, a rock scene staple, or maybe just that unrelenting fire that some people burn with while the rest of us just warm our hands.

JULY 27: BRIGHTON GETS LOUD

They’re not done. Not even close. This July 27, the Casket Rats are bringing the noise to Courthouse Park in Brighton. Free, outdoors, and surely loud enough to get the local squirrels into punk. That’s their turf. And if you’re in the area, skip the craft beer festival and show up with something stronger. Trust me.

Their live set? It’s been called a hybrid of punk, metal, and blues. Like someone took all your favorite bad decisions and gave them a guitar. Ghost Cult described them as the Sunset Strip’s 1980s bastard children, while Hump Day News noted the “soul of blues” under all the attitude. Vanyaland got it right with: “For the Rockers, for the Bangers, for the Punks, for the Sinners…” Yeah. That about covers it.

And we? We’re calling them the best kind of trouble – loud and lived-in.

FINAL THOUGHTS BEFORE YOU DIVE IN

You don’t need a music degree or a vinyl altar to get Casket Rats. Just a pulse, some bad decisions, and decent speakers. You need ears that still ring from the last basement show, lungs that still remember Marlboro reds, and maybe a memory or two of a Whiskey Queen of your own.

Still confused? Hit play, survive the blast, and go tell the Rats how it felt: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook. They’ll probably respond with a riff – or a beer can.