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Although plenty of rockers have taken inspiration from high fantasy, rarely any have genuinely embodied the mythical existence. Certainly, they might embellish their album sleeves with creatures, beasts, captive women and strong fighters, but has an artist ever been forced to recover a missing horn from a unicorn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Did anyone devoted hours squinting in the back of a traveling vehicle, mending their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Established in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face these exact challenges and additional ones as they embody their heroic dreams. Starting with knightly, catchy anthems to breathtaking live shows, costume design, visuals and album art, they’re not just a metal band as a total artistic immersion.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” says vocalist, guitarist, blade-handler and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a sold-out gig in a German city to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they are playing several shows in the UK this week. “We played two shows and received an offer on a October show, where I decided spontaneously to wear a costume. Everything was highly handmade, but we had a blast and the energy was electric. I thought, ‘How about if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the ensemble – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a pestilence physician (low-end instrumentalist), proud bloodsucker (six-string player) and mysterious druid (percussionist) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, conjures visions of classic metal icons joining forces to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a grand composition that places them on the verge of far grander things.

This album was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “It made it a much better project,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – I often experienced a specific level of pride as a woman in music going it alone. I’ve had numerous occasions where after a show and a person will say, ‘Those guys write great riffs!’ and I think, ‘Hey – I wrote all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

With their growing popularity has increased, so has the breadth of their production design. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on track for a fine art degree before pulling back at the idea of heavy loans. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s creating face coverings, outfit planning, learning how to edit music videos … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s exciting to learn as we go.”

Even though creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“People are encouraging me to write it down because all the ideas are,” Riley says, tapping her head) and making clothing didn’t suffice, the singer learned on her own how to craft metal mesh – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly delegated her completely original scale armor design to a expert from NYC. “It seems like actual armour,” she grins.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They took to the theatrical gore, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with as much gusto as the band. “We had a concert in the Motor City and it seemed like a medieval event,” recalls Riley fondly. “Everyone was in cloaks, wool garments, armor.”

That’s not to imply, though, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “Each item is frequently damaged and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I get endless ideas as to how I desire the presentation, but we’re traveling in a vehicle with limited room. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into minimal luggage.”

We faced further organizational challenges that didn’t affect fictional warriors. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we appeared at SonicBlast festival in the European country and my luggage – which had my weapon in it – got lost,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because there’s not an different option of the performance where I don’t have a sword.”

Goals Ahead

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is enthusiastic about the future. “I want to go to the top – we should play stadiums,” she says. “The main aspect that’s truly essential to me is keeping the self-crafted look, making sure each detail is custom-made. That’s an element I want to keep true to, no matter what we achieve. Plus, I want to make an entrance on a magical horse every night. You know how legends do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but on a mythical creature.”