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While many musicians have drawn from epic fantasy, few have fully embraced the fantasy lifestyle. Sure, they may decorate their album sleeves with monsters, imps, manacled maidens and brawny barbarians, but has an artist ever needed to find a misplaced unicorn horn from a wintry landscape in the depths of winter? Did a performer spent time straining their eyes in the rear of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own chainmail?

Embracing the Mythos

Established in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and additional ones as they live out their epic fantasies. Starting with knightly, catchy anthems to breathtaking performances, outfit creation, videos and cover artwork, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” states vocalist, guitar player, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a full-capacity concert in a German city to another in another town – they have multiple performances in the UK this week. “We played two shows and were scheduled on a Halloween gig, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. Everything was highly handmade, but we had a blast and the feeling in the room was incredible. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

Development of Castle Rat

From that point on, the group – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” joined by a medic from history (low-end instrumentalist), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (percussionist) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, evokes images of classic metal icons collaborating to struggle onward through a heroic art landscape – a epic masterpiece that places them on the edge of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “That contributed to a lot stronger album,” she says of the team effort. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a particular degree of pride being a woman in music working independently. There have been numerous occasions where I’ve got off stage and an audience member will say, ‘The other members create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Hey – I wrote all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As their fame has grown, so has the scale of their visual elements. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on course for a university studies in art before balking at the possibility of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express artistic expression,” she says. “Be it making masks, outfit planning, figuring out video editing song visuals … it’s all stuff I don’t know how to do, but it’s exciting to figure it out as we go.”

As if building the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to record it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments didn’t suffice, the singer taught herself how to make chainmail – no mean feat, though she admittedly left her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a New York-based specialist. “It feels like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They loved the fake blood, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We had a gig in the Motor City and it looked like a historical festival,” recalls Riley with affection. “Everyone was in capes, sheepskin, chainmail.”

That’s not to imply, though, that touring existence as fantasy adventurers has been smooth. “All our gear is frequently damaged and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we’re traveling in a vehicle with restricted capacity. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a mythic tale, then pack it down into minimal luggage.”

There have been additional practical issues that would never have plagued mythic characters. “We did have an ‘oh shit’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my luggage – which had my blade in it – got lost,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because there’s not an backup plan of the show where I am without a weapon.”

Future Ambitions

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is enthusiastic about the future. “I aim to reach all the way – let’s do huge arenas,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is maintaining the self-crafted look, guaranteeing everything is handmade. That’s an element I want to stay authentic to, no matter what we achieve. Oh, and I desire to appear on a unicorn every night. Remember how legends ride bikes on stage? The same idea, but using a unicorn.”