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While numerous artists have drawn from epic fantasy, only a handful have genuinely embodied the fantasy existence. Certainly, they could adorn their record jackets with creatures, beasts, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but has an artist ever been forced to find a missing horn from a unicorn from a frost-covered ground in the heart of winter? Did a guitarist spent time peering in the rear of a traveling vehicle, mending their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered these exact challenges and others as they embody their grand tales. From knightly, catchy songs to stunning performances, attire styling, videos and album art, they’re not so much a metal band as a complete sensory journey.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a outfit with characters,” says singer, guitar player, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van travels from a sold-out gig in Cologne to a second one in another town – they’re also doing five gigs in the UK now. “Initially, we performed twice and were scheduled on a Halloween gig, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. The entire setup was super-DIY, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was electric. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have such enjoyment at every show?’”

The Band’s Evolution

After that, the ensemble – which includes Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” joined by a medic from history (bass player), proud bloodsucker (six-string player) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – never turned back. The new record, the follow-up record, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands collaborating to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a grand composition that positions them on the verge of bigger achievements.

The Bestiary was a first for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her fellow members. “That contributed to a lot stronger record,” she says of the team effort. “It was challenging at first – I’d always felt a specific level of accomplishment being a woman in music doing everything solo. There’ve been numerous occasions where I’ve got off stage and some guy will say, ‘The band compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I composed all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the breadth of their stage presentation. “The saying I live by is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on track for a university studies in art before hesitating at the possibility of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to demonstrate artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s creating face coverings, outfit planning, mastering post-production clips … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s exciting to figure it out in the moment.”

As if creating the group’s detailed mythology (“Everyone’s urging me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, tapping her head) and sewing costumes wasn’t enough, the singer self-educated how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly delegated her completely original scale armor design to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she grins.

Fan Response and Obstacles

What about the crowd? They embraced the fake blood, foam swords and crafted rodent bones with similar excitement as the musicians. “We had a show in Detroit and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley fondly. “The whole crowd was in cloaks, sheepskin, armor.”

However, this doesn’t mean, nevertheless, that life on the road as mythical wanderers has been easy. “Each item is always failing and ends up fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have numerous thoughts as to how I desire the presentation, but we tour in a bus with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into nothing.”

There have been other logistical problems that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my luggage – which had my weapon in it – went missing,” says Riley. “It was a terrible situation, because we don’t have an different option of the concert where I am without a sword.”

Goals Ahead

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is gung-ho about the days to come. “I want to go as far as possible – I dream of huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is maintaining the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing everything is handmade. This is a feature I want to stay authentic to, no matter what we achieve. Additionally, I wish to ride out on a unicorn at all performances. Remember how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? That, but with a unicorn.”