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Although numerous musicians have taken inspiration from high fantasy, few have genuinely embodied the mythical lifestyle. Certainly, they may decorate their record jackets with monsters, goblins, captive women and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever needed to recover a lost unicorn horn from a snowy field in the midst of winter? Did anyone taken the time squinting in the interior of a tour bus, repairing their own armor?

Living the Fantasy

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have encountered these exact challenges and additional ones as they act out their heroic dreams. Starting with medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy songs to stunning live shows, outfit creation, music videos and record designs, they’re not so much a metal band as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a themed musical group,” states singer, guitarist, sword-carrier and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van drives from a sold-out gig 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 spooky event, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. Everything was highly handmade, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was electric. It occurred to me, ‘Imagine if we could have such enjoyment at every show?’”

Development of Castle Rat

From that point on, the band – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a plague doctor (bassist), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and secretive shaman (rhythm keeper) – continued forward. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, brings to mind of legendary heavy bands collaborating to fight their path through a heroic art landscape – a heroic opus that places them on the verge of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a first for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her bandmates. “That contributed to a more powerful record,” she says of the collaborative process. “I had difficulty at first – I’d always felt a particular degree of accomplishment as a woman in music going it alone. There have been so many times where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘The other members write great riffs!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As their fame has grown, so has the breadth of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on track for a university studies in art before pulling back at the idea of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate artistry,” she says. “Be it making masks, attire creation, mastering post-production song visuals … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s exciting to discover as we go.”

As if creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to write it down because everything is stored,” 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 confessedly entrusted her all-new scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They embraced the fake blood, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with as much gusto as the band. “We played a concert in the Motor City and it seemed like a medieval event,” reminisces Riley fondly. “All attendees was in capes, animal hides, chainmail.”

However, this doesn’t mean, though, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “Each item is always failing and ends up duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we’re traveling in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s a unique problem to give the sense like a grand epic, then compress it into a small space.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that didn’t affect legendary fantasy heroes. “We did have an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my baggage – which had my blade in it – went missing,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because there’s not an different option of the performance where I don’t have a weapon.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is enthusiastic about the future. “I want to go as far as possible – we should play large venues,” she says. “The key element that’s deeply meaningful to me is preserving the handmade style, making sure each detail is custom-made. This is a feature I want to keep true to, regardless of we grow into. Oh, and I desire to make an entrance on a mythical beast every night. You know how legends ride bikes on stage? Exactly that, but using a unicorn.”