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While many artists have borrowed from fantasy lore, few have genuinely embodied the fantasy existence. Sure, they may adorn their album covers with monsters, imps, chained damsels and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever have to retrieve a lost unicorn horn from a snowy field in the depths of winter? Did anyone taken the time straining their eyes in the back of a tour bus, mending their own metal mesh?

Embracing the Mythos

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face such situations and additional ones as they act out their heroic dreams. From knightly, catchy songs to stunning performances, costume design, music videos and album art, they’re not just a metal band as a complete sensory journey.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” explains singer, guitarist, blade-handler and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport drives from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to another in Aschaffenburg – they have multiple performances in the UK now. “After a couple of performances and were scheduled on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. The entire setup was highly handmade, but we had so much fun and the atmosphere was unforgettable. I thought, ‘How about if we could have this much fun at every show?’”

Development of Castle Rat

After that, the ensemble – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” together with a plague doctor (low-end instrumentalist), haughty vampire (guitarist) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – haven’t looked back. Their latest album, the band’s second album, conjures visions of famous rock groups uniting to battle their way through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that positions them on the brink of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a first for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “This helped a more powerful album,” she says of the collaborative process. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a specific level of satisfaction as a female in music doing everything solo. There’ve been multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I composed all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As their fame has grown, so has the scale of their visual elements. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. She was originally on track for a fine art degree before pulling back at the idea of financial burden. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to apply artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s making masks, costume design, mastering post-production clips … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to discover as we go.”

As if developing the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to write it down because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the singer self-educated how to craft metal mesh – no mean feat, though she admittedly delegated her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a expert from NYC. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

What about the crowd? They loved the fake blood, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with as much gusto as the band. “We had a gig in the Motor City and it resembled a historical festival,” recalls Riley happily. “The whole crowd was in cloaks, wool garments, armor.”

However, this doesn’t mean, however, that traveling lifestyle as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been plain sailing. “Everything is frequently damaged and ends up fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we tour in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to make it feel like a mythic tale, then pack it down into a small space.”

There have been additional practical issues that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my baggage – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “This became a terrible situation, because we don’t have an alternative version of the show where I lack a blade.”

Upcoming Plans

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is eager about the days to come. “My goal is to the top – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is keeping the handmade style, making sure each detail is custom-made. This is a feature I want to keep true to, regardless of we scale to. Plus, I wish to ride out on a magical horse at all performances. Remember how legends ride bikes on stage? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”