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While numerous artists have borrowed from high fantasy, few have genuinely embodied the fantasy lifestyle. Certainly, they might adorn their album covers with monsters, beasts, chained damsels and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever have to retrieve a misplaced mythical horn from a frost-covered ground in the heart of winter? Did anyone devoted hours peering in the back of a tour bus, fixing their own armor?

Embracing the Mythos

Established in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have dealt with these exact challenges and more as they live out their heroic dreams. From knightly, memorable anthems to stunning performances, outfit creation, videos and record designs, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a outfit with characters,” says vocalist, guitar player, sword-carrier and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a sold-out gig in Cologne to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they are playing five gigs in the UK now. “We played two shows and got booked on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had an amazing time and the atmosphere was incredible. I thought, ‘How about if we could have this much fun at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” alongside a medic from history (bassist), haughty vampire (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (percussionist) – continued forward. Their latest album, the band’s second album, evokes images of classic metal icons collaborating to struggle onward through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a grand composition that sets them on the edge of bigger achievements.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “This helped a much better project,” she says of the collaborative process. “It was challenging at first – I often experienced a certain amount of accomplishment as a woman in music doing everything solo. I’ve had so many times where after a show and a person will say, ‘The other members write great riffs!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I composed all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As their fame has grown, so has the breadth of their stage presentation. “The saying I live by is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. She was originally on course for a art school education before hesitating at the prospect of financial burden. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to express artistic expression,” she says. “Be it creating face coverings, attire creation, figuring out video editing song visuals … everything is I am unfamiliar with, but it’s enjoyable to discover as we go.”

Even though creating the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to document it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, tapping her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the singer self-educated how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly entrusted her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

What about the crowd? They took to the fake blood, soft weapons and papier-mache rat skulls with similar excitement as the musicians. “We played a concert in Detroit and it resembled a medieval event,” recalls Riley with affection. “Everyone was in cloaks, sheepskin, chainmail.”

This isn’t to say, however, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been plain sailing. “Everything is always failing and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Moreover I come up with countless concepts as to how I desire the presentation, but we tour in a vehicle with limited room. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a mythic tale, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

There have been additional practical issues that would never have plagued legendary fantasy heroes. “We did have an ‘oh shit’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “That was a nightmare, because there’s not an different option of the performance where I am without a blade.”

Goals Ahead

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is enthusiastic about the future. “I aim to reach as far as possible – let’s do stadiums,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is preserving the self-crafted look, guaranteeing each detail is handmade. That’s an element I want to stay authentic to, regardless of we grow into. Oh, and I wish to appear on a magical horse every night. Remember how legends do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”