HolyRoller - Rat King (Album Review)

Release Date: June 06th 2025. Record Label: Ripple Music. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Rat King - Tracklisting

1. Crunch Riff Supreme

2. Titan

3. Forbidden Things

4. Rat King Side

5. Buried Alone

6. Heave Ho

7. Radiating Sacred Light

8. Drift Into The Sun

Members

Adam Cody – rhythm guitar & vocals

Jay Ovittore- drums & gang vox

Steve Poe – lead guitar

Jason Kincaid- bass guitar & backing vocals

Review

Psych/Doom/Stoner Metallers HolyRoller return with their latest album Rat King which takes a heavier, swampedelic and psychedelic approach to their celebrated 2022 debut album Swimming Witches. That album was released by the highly respected Black Doomba Records label, this time HolyRoller has landed at the doorstep of the mighty RIPPLE MUSIC for the release of Rat King and it’s not hard to see why.

HolyRoller have become a heavier and riff-centric unit compared to their previous record whilst keeping their seedy and sludgier underground vibe. The band added Steve Poe on lead guitar in 2023 where his Psychedelic grooves have taken the band on an action-packed Sonic based journey. This record is quite direct with its groove oriented sound which evokes a huge likeability factor within the whole album. Taking influences from the likes of The Sword, ASG, WO FAT and RED FANG. Dedicated followers of the Doom/Stoner Metal Underground Scene and longtime fans of Ripple Music will find much to enjoy here.

The record has that classic and stripped back underground sound allowing HolyRoller demonstrating a seedy melodic style that is trippy, aggressive and full of trippy hallucinations based imagery hiding behind the murky progressive sludgy surroundings. The lyrics are excellent and bring a socially aware message that can be quite hard-hitting on tracks such as Titan, Forbidden Things, Buried Alone and Drift Into The Sun. 

HolyRoller stated that Rat King is about the following “Lyrically, our themes revolve around navigating mental health as Adam Cody’s sings about suicidal thoughts and finding peace in being an atheist, substance abuse, political ideologies, aging in the music industry and more”. 

So the record might be triggering for some and it made me think of certain things that’s happened in my life over the years which is quite a powerful thing to do in the world of Stoner Rock/Metal. 

HolyRoller’s music is always aggressive and in your face with its stripped back production values but it’s delivered from a good emotional place from the band. The instrumental melodies capture a certain unrestrained quality to the whole creative journey that Rat King takes you upon. With a mixture of classic Stoner Metal grooves and murky Swamp Rock/Metal expeditions into areas of distorted FUZZ elements, HolyRoller offers an unflinching journey when everything is said and done.

The music is constantly evolving with HolyRoller fully exploring their creative ideas on a HUGE CINEMATIC scale which brings a sense of true quality to the album itself. HolyRoller blend classic sounding Doom/Stoner Metal where the FUZZ attitude comes aggressively shining through when the music is matched against a backdrop of modern day Post-Doom and Atmospheric Sludge Rock landscapes which last long in the memory.

The production values are surprisingly stripped back and with a raw LO-FI edge leading the way especially with this being released by Ripple Music. However, this was the right decision for HolyRoller to take as the bleak subject matter contained within the majority of the tracks would sound completely different if it had that “PROFESSIONAL STUDIO QUALITY” vibe added to the whole album. 

Rat King is a thought provoking, bleak and aggressive record which is offset by some stunning and uplifting instrumental grooves that leave you in a tranquil state at times that reminds me of KING BUFFALO at times. So expect to hear a different kind of Psychedelic Stoner Metal record which dares to be different and leaves you wanting to hear more.

HolyRoller have no doubt delivered a potential ALBUM OF THE YEAR contender right here. 

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.

Rat King is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Ripple Music.

Links

Facebook | Bandcamp |  Instagram | Spotify

North Carolina Stoner Metallers HOLYROLLER share new single off upcoming album "Rat King"; out June 6th on Ripple Music!

North Carolina's premium stoner metal merchants HOLYROLLER unleash their new sonic sledgehammer "Titan" — the second excerpt off their forthcoming new studio album "Rat King" due out June 6th on Ripple Music.

Get your ears pulverized by HolyRoller's new single Titan  + Don't miss their latest video Crunch Riff Supreme

With a history of intense, powerful stage performance, HolyRoller’s brand of psychedelic smoke'n'roll keeps heads banging & riffs blazing, and their brand new album on Ripple Music is no exception. "Rat King is our heaviest, most straightforward album to date. Our goal was to create catchy Stoner rock with brutal doom laden riffs throughout. We wanted simple songs with undeniable groove at every turn. Vocals you can sing along to & rhythm that keeps you head banging. Lyrically, our themes revolve around navigating mental health as Adam Cody’s sings about suicidal thoughts and finding peace in being an atheist, substance abuse, political ideologies, aging in the music industry and more," the band comments.

About the album title, they add: "A Rat King refers to when a group of Rats has lived in such proximity that their tails and fur fuse together over time, forming a mass that has to work together as one. Our message is: work together to accomplish what needs to be done, lift your fellow rats and be a king in your community, however small it may be. Don’t underestimate the little guy. Take a bite out of crime, and most importantly, smoke em if ya got em."

With a sound that ignites like a fuse, the powerhouse foursome delivers a feral feast of catchy stoner rock and doom metal with gripping melodies and grooves that lock into your spine. Every track on "Rat King" is a sledgehammer to the senses filled with lyrical depth, as frontman Adam Cody howls about suicidal ideation, atheism as solace, substance abuse or surviving the music industry’s grind. It’s raw, confrontational, and oddly cathartic — an album for those who find beauty in the ugly. Fans of ASG, The Sword, Red Fang, Corrosion of Conformity will love this!

HOLYROLLER "Rat King" - Out June 6th on Ripple Music (LP/CD/digital)

HolyRoller formed in 2019 when Adam Cody (Glass Casket, Wretched) and drummer Jay Ovittore (The Pretty Ugly, The 5 L’s) began to jam heavy stoner rock in the vein of Red Fang, Elder & Mastodon. In a unique bubble of time created by the pandemic, HolyRoller was given a one-off chance needed to make countless songs fusing rock, doom, hardcore and punk rock.

Brewing in the smoke-filled basements & dive bars of the North Carolina punk & metal scene: HolyRoller recruited local guitar virtuoso Jim Mayberry with low-end mainstay Jason Kincaid. Together, the four-piece immediately began writing and entered the studio with Jamie King (Between the Buried & Me, The Contortionist) producing the debut effort.

HolyRoller released their debut self-titled EP in September 2020, gathering attention from Atlanta, Georgia-based independent metal label Black Doomba Records, which released their debut full-length "Swimming Witches" in May 2022. HolyRoller have honed their live show with countless regional gigs in North and South Carolina and Georgia, where they supported Crowbar, Spirit Adrift, Atomic Bitchwax and Nebula. In 2023, Holyroller welcomed a third guitar player, Steve Poe. Steve adds to the driving and crushing sonic wall of sound, making live shows something to behold. Holyroller was featured on the Weedian compilation "Trip to NC".

Holyroller returned to a writing phase in late 2023 and early 2024 and went back into the studio with Jamie King. Before the recording, they parted ways with guitarist Jim Mayberry mutually. They are now getting ready to release their third album "Rat King" on Ripple Music on June 6th, 2025.

HOLYROLLER links

Facebook | Bandcamp |  Instagram | Spotify

RIPPLE MUSIC links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for all of the details.