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Although numerous musicians have drawn from fantasy lore, only a handful have genuinely embodied the mythical way of life. Admittedly, they might embellish their album covers with monsters, goblins, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but has an artist ever been forced to retrieve a lost unicorn horn from a wintry landscape in the depths of winter? Did a guitarist spent time straining their eyes in the interior of a road transport, repairing their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face these exact challenges and others as they act out their epic fantasies. Starting with heraldic, catchy anthems to eye-popping performances, costume design, visuals and album art, they’re not so much a metal band as a full immersive experience.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a outfit with characters,” states singer, guitar player, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport speeds from a sold-out gig in a German city to one more in another town – they are playing multiple performances in the UK now. “After a couple of performances and received an offer on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to put on an outfit. It was all super-DIY, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was electric. I realized, ‘How about if we could have so much excitement every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

Since then, the band – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” joined by a medic from history (bassist), aristocratic undead (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – continued forward. The Bestiary, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of classic metal icons collaborating to battle their way through a heroic art landscape – a grand composition that positions them on the verge of greater success.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her bandmates. “It made it a lot stronger record,” she says of the team effort. “It was challenging at first – I often experienced a particular degree of accomplishment as a woman in music working independently. There’ve been numerous occasions where after a show and some guy will say, ‘Those guys create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Hey – I created all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As their fame has increased, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “The saying I live by is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. Initially, she was on track for a university studies in art before hesitating at the possibility of heavy loans. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply artistry,” she says. “From creating face coverings, attire creation, mastering post-production music videos … these are all things I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to learn as we go.”

As if building the band’s intricate lore (“People are encouraging me to record it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, tapping her head) and sewing costumes wasn’t enough, the vocalist taught herself how to craft metal mesh – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly left her brand-new scale armor design to a professional in the city. “It seems like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They took to the stage blood, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We had a gig in the Motor City and it resembled a medieval event,” remembers Riley fondly. “All attendees was in cloaks, sheepskin, chainmail.”

That’s not to imply, however, 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 numerous thoughts as to how I desire the presentation, but we are on the move in a van with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to make it feel like a grand epic, then pack it down into minimal luggage.”

We faced further organizational challenges that didn’t affect legendary fantasy heroes. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my suitcase – which had my weapon in it – went missing,” says Riley. “It was a terrible situation, because we don’t have an backup plan of the performance where I lack a blade.”

Upcoming Plans

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is enthusiastic about the what’s next. “I aim to reach all the way – let’s do stadiums,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is preserving the handmade style, guaranteeing everything is crafted by us. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we achieve. Additionally, I want to appear on a mythical beast each show. You know how some artists ride bikes on stage? The same idea, but using a unicorn.”