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Although numerous artists have borrowed from high fantasy, rarely any have truly lived the fantasy existence. Admittedly, they might adorn their album covers with ghouls, beasts, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but has any musician ever needed to recover a missing unicorn horn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Did a guitarist spent time peering in the back of a tour bus, repairing their own armor?

Embracing the Mythos

Created in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have encountered such situations and more as they act out their epic fantasies. Starting with medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy tunes to stunning live shows, attire styling, visuals and record designs, they’re more than a metal band as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a themed musical group,” says vocalist, guitar player, sword-wielder and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van drives from a packed show in Cologne to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they’re also doing five gigs in the UK this week. “We played two shows and received an offer on a spooky event, where I chose at the final moment to dress up. It was all completely self-made, but we had so much fun and the atmosphere was unforgettable. I thought, ‘What if we could have this much fun always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

After that, the ensemble – which includes Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a medic from history (bassist), haughty vampire (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – continued forward. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, evokes images of legendary heavy bands joining forces to struggle onward through a mythical painted realm – a grand composition that positions them on the edge of far grander things.

This album was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her collaborators. “This helped a much better project,” she says of the team effort. “I had difficulty at first – There was a sense of a particular degree of pride being a woman in music going it alone. There have been numerous occasions where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As their fame has grown, so has the breadth of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. She was originally on track for a university studies in art before balking at the idea of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to demonstrate artistic expression,” she says. “From creating face coverings, outfit planning, mastering post-production clips … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to figure it out in the moment.”

Even though building the ensemble’s complex backstory (“Everyone’s urging me to document it because everything is stored,” Riley says, tapping her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the vocalist taught herself how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly entrusted her all-new scale armor design to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she grins.

Fan Response and Obstacles

As for audiences? They loved the fake blood, soft weapons and papier-mache rat skulls with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We had a concert in the Motor City and it looked like a Renaissance fair,” recalls Riley with affection. “All attendees was in capes, animal hides, chainmail.”

This isn’t to say, nevertheless, that traveling lifestyle as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been plain sailing. “All our gear is frequently damaged and ends up duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Moreover I’ll have endless ideas as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to make it feel like a mythic tale, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

We faced other logistical problems that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my suitcase – which had my weapon in it – went missing,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because there’s not an alternative version of the performance where I lack a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is eager about the days to come. “I aim to reach to the top – I dream of huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s truly essential to me is maintaining the DIY aesthetic, ensuring each detail is custom-made. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we grow into. Additionally, I wish to ride out on a magical horse each show. Remember how some artists ride bikes on stage? The same idea, but using a unicorn.”