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Although numerous rockers have taken inspiration from epic fantasy, rarely any have fully embraced the fantasy way of life. Admittedly, they might adorn their record jackets with monsters, goblins, captive women and strong fighters, but has any musician ever needed to find a misplaced mythical horn from a frost-covered ground in the midst of winter? Has a performer devoted hours peering in the rear of a traveling vehicle, fixing their own metal mesh?

Embracing the Mythos

Created in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have had to face such situations and more as they embody their grand tales. From knightly, earworm-heavy anthems to eye-popping live shows, attire styling, music videos and album art, they’re not just a metal band as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a costumed concept band,” says vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle drives from a packed show in Cologne to a second one in another town – they have five gigs in the UK this week. “We played two shows and were scheduled on a Halloween gig, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. It was all highly handmade, but we had an amazing time and the atmosphere was unforgettable. It occurred to me, ‘What if we could have this much fun at every show?’”

The Band’s Evolution

From that point on, the band – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” together with a medic from history (bass player), aristocratic undead (lead guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, brings to mind of famous rock groups uniting to battle their way through a heroic art landscape – a heroic opus that places them on the edge of bigger achievements.

This album was a first for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her fellow members. “This helped a more powerful record,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – I often experienced a specific level of accomplishment being a woman in music doing everything solo. I’ve had numerous occasions where after a show and some guy will say, ‘Those guys write great riffs!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I wrote all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the breadth of their production design. “My philosophy is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on path for a art school education before pulling back at the possibility of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply creativity,” she says. “Be it crafting disguises, attire creation, learning how to edit music videos … it’s all stuff I don’t know how to do, but it’s exciting to discover in the moment.”

Even though building the group’s detailed mythology (“The team is pushing me to document it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and making clothing wasn’t enough, the singer self-educated how to create armor – a difficult task, though she confessedly entrusted her all-new scale armor design to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she grins.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They loved the theatrical gore, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We had a show in Detroit and it resembled a Renaissance fair,” recalls Riley fondly. “The whole crowd was in robes, sheepskin, chainmail.”

However, this doesn’t mean, nevertheless, that traveling lifestyle as fantasy adventurers has been plain sailing. “Each item is constantly breaking and gets repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we’re traveling in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to give the sense like a mythic tale, then store it into a small space.”

We faced additional practical issues that didn’t affect legendary fantasy heroes. “We did have an ‘oh shit’ moment when we appeared at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my baggage – which had my weapon in it – went missing,” says Riley. “That was a nightmare, because there’s not an alternative version of the concert where I don’t have a blade.”

Upcoming Plans

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is enthusiastic about the future. “My goal is all the way – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The main aspect that’s truly essential to me is maintaining the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing all elements is custom-made. That’s an element I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we scale to. Plus, I desire to appear on a mythical beast at all performances. Remember how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? That, but with a unicorn.”