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While many rockers have borrowed from fantasy lore, only a handful have truly lived the fantasy existence. Admittedly, they may adorn their album covers with ghouls, goblins, manacled maidens and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever been forced to recover a lost mythical horn from a frost-covered ground in the heart of winter? Has a performer spent time peering in the rear of a traveling vehicle, mending their own metal mesh?

Embracing the Mythos

Created in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have encountered such situations and additional ones as they embody their epic fantasies. Starting with medieval-inspired, catchy anthems to stunning live shows, costume design, visuals and record designs, they’re not just a metal band as a full immersive experience.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a themed musical group,” explains singer, guitarist, sword-wielder and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a packed show in a German city to another in another town – they are playing five gigs in the UK currently. “Initially, we performed twice and got booked on a Halloween gig, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. It was all super-DIY, but we had so much fun and the atmosphere was incredible. It occurred to me, ‘What if we could have so much excitement always?’”

Growth of the Group

After that, the ensemble – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” joined by a plague doctor (bassist), proud bloodsucker (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (rhythm keeper) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of classic metal icons uniting to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a grand composition that places them on the verge of greater success.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her collaborators. “That contributed to a lot stronger project,” she says of the team effort. “It was challenging at first – I’d always felt a particular degree of satisfaction as a female in music going it alone. There have been so many times where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘The band compose cool melodies!’ and I think, ‘Hey – I composed all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has increased, so has the breadth of their visual elements. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on track for a university studies in art before balking at the possibility of heavy loans. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply artistic expression,” she says. “From crafting disguises, outfit planning, learning how to edit song visuals … these are all things I am unfamiliar with, but it’s exciting to learn on the fly.”

As if building the band’s intricate lore (“The team is pushing me to document it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the singer learned on her own how to craft metal mesh – no mean feat, though she admittedly delegated her all-new scalemail look to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They took to the theatrical gore, toy blades and crafted rodent bones with as much gusto as the band. “We had a gig in the Motor City and it resembled a medieval event,” remembers Riley happily. “All attendees was in robes, wool garments, armor.”

However, this doesn’t mean, however, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “Everything is constantly breaking and ends up fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we are on the move in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a larger-than-life story, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

We’ve encountered further organizational challenges that wouldn’t have troubled legendary fantasy heroes. “There was an ‘oh shit’ moment when we performed at a music event in Portugal and my baggage – which had my blade in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because we don’t have an alternative version of the concert where I lack a blade.”

Future Ambitions

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is eager about the days to come. “I want to go to the top – I dream of huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s deeply meaningful to me is maintaining the handmade style, making sure all elements is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we scale to. Plus, I want to appear on a unicorn each show. Think about how legends do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but using a unicorn.”