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While plenty of artists have taken inspiration from fantasy lore, only a handful have genuinely embodied the mythical lifestyle. Sure, they may decorate their album covers with creatures, goblins, captive women and strong fighters, but did a member ever needed to retrieve a misplaced mythical horn from a wintry landscape in the midst of winter? Did a guitarist devoted hours peering in the rear of a road transport, repairing their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Established in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have dealt with both these scenarios and more as they embody their epic fantasies. From medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy anthems to stunning concerts, outfit creation, visuals and cover artwork, they’re not just a metal band as a total artistic immersion.

“It wasn’t planned to be a themed musical group,” says vocalist, guitarist, blade-handler and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a sold-out gig in Cologne to one more in another town – they’re also doing several shows in the UK currently. “We played two shows and were scheduled on a October show, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. Everything was highly handmade, but we had a blast and the atmosphere was unforgettable. It occurred to me, ‘How about if we could have this much fun every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

From that point on, the band – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a medic from history (bassist), haughty vampire (six-string player) and enigmatic nature priest (rhythm keeper) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, evokes images of classic metal icons uniting to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a grand composition that places them on the edge of greater success.

The release was a first for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her collaborators. “It made it a more powerful record,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – I often experienced a particular degree of accomplishment as a female in music going it alone. I’ve had multiple instances where after a show and some guy will say, ‘The other members compose cool melodies!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I wrote all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As their fame has grown, so has the scope of their stage presentation. “The saying I live by is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. She was originally on path for a art school education before balking at the prospect of heavy loans. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, outfit planning, learning how to edit song visuals … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to discover as we go.”

Even though creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“People are encouraging me to record it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and sewing costumes were insufficient, the vocalist learned on her own how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly entrusted her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Fan Response and Obstacles

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 concert in Detroit and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley with affection. “The whole crowd was in capes, wool garments, chainmail.”

This isn’t to say, however, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “Each item is constantly breaking and gets fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Moreover I’ll have endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we’re traveling in a bus with limited room. It’s an interesting challenge to make it feel like a mythic tale, then store it into minimal luggage.”

We faced additional practical issues that wouldn’t have troubled fictional warriors. “There was an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we performed at a music event in Portugal and my baggage – which had my blade in it – went missing,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because there’s not an different option of the show where I don’t have a sword.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is gung-ho about the future. “I aim to reach to the top – let’s do huge arenas,” she says. “The key element that’s truly essential to me is maintaining the self-crafted look, making sure all elements is handmade. This is a feature I want to keep true to, no matter what we scale to. Additionally, I wish to ride out on a mythical beast every night. Think about how legends ride bikes on stage? That, but on a mythical creature.”