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While plenty of musicians have taken inspiration from high fantasy, only a handful have fully embraced the mythical lifestyle. Sure, they may adorn their album sleeves with creatures, imps, manacled maidens and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever have to find a misplaced unicorn horn from a wintry landscape in the midst of winter? Has a performer taken the time peering in the rear of a tour bus, fixing their own metal mesh?

Living the Fantasy

Established in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and more as they live out their grand tales. From medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy songs to stunning live shows, costume design, music videos and cover artwork, they’re not just a metal band as a full immersive experience.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a outfit with characters,” states singer, guitarist, sword-carrier and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle speeds from a sold-out gig in a German city to one more in Aschaffenburg – they are playing multiple performances in the UK this week. “After a couple of performances and were scheduled on a Halloween gig, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had a blast and the atmosphere was electric. It occurred to me, ‘How about if we could have so much excitement every time?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the ensemble – which includes Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a plague doctor (bassist), haughty vampire (guitarist) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – never turned back. Their latest album, the band’s second album, evokes images of famous rock groups collaborating to battle their way through a heroic art landscape – a heroic opus that sets them on the brink of bigger achievements.

The Bestiary was a first for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her bandmates. “This helped a more powerful record,” she says of the team effort. “It was challenging at first – There was a sense of a specific level of satisfaction as a female in music going it alone. I’ve had so many times where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘The other members create awesome guitar parts!’ and I think, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

With their growing popularity has expanded, so has the scale of their production design. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. She was originally on path for a university studies in art before pulling back at the possibility of heavy loans. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, attire creation, mastering post-production music videos … it’s all stuff I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to discover in the moment.”

Even though developing the band’s intricate lore (“The team is pushing me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the singer self-educated how to make chainmail – no mean feat, though she confessedly left her all-new scalemail look to a expert from NYC. “It feels like actual armour,” she grins.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They embraced the theatrical gore, toy blades and handmade props with as much gusto as the group. “We performed a concert in the Motor City and it seemed like a medieval event,” reminisces Riley with affection. “The whole crowd was in cloaks, sheepskin, chainmail.”

This isn’t to say, however, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been easy. “Everything is constantly breaking and ends up fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with endless ideas as to how I desire the presentation, but we’re traveling in a van with limited room. It’s a unique problem to create the impression like a larger-than-life story, then store it into nothing.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “There was an ‘oh shit’ moment when we performed at a music event in Portugal and my baggage – which had my weapon in it – got lost,” says Riley. “This became a terrible situation, because there is no an backup plan of the concert where I am without a weapon.”

Future Ambitions

As a genuine leader, Riley is eager about the future. “I want to go all the way – I dream of huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s truly essential to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, ensuring each detail is handmade. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we grow into. Plus, I want to ride out on a unicorn every night. You know how legends use vehicles in concerts? The same idea, but with a unicorn.”