🔗 Share this article

While numerous artists have taken inspiration from fantasy lore, rarely any have fully embraced the fantasy lifestyle. Certainly, they could adorn their record jackets with monsters, goblins, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but did a member ever needed to find a lost unicorn horn from a frost-covered ground in the midst of winter? Has anyone devoted hours squinting in the interior of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own chainmail?

Embracing the Mythos

Formed in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have encountered such situations and more as they live out their epic fantasies. Starting with medieval-inspired, catchy songs to stunning performances, attire styling, visuals and album art, they’re not so much a metal band as a full immersive experience.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” explains singer, guitarist, sword-carrier and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van drives from a packed show in a German city to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they have several shows in the UK now. “Initially, we performed twice and were scheduled on a Halloween gig, where I chose at the final moment to wear a costume. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had a blast and the feeling in the room was electric. I realized, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the group – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” joined by a medic from history (low-end instrumentalist), proud bloodsucker (guitarist) and mysterious druid (drummer) – haven’t looked back. The Bestiary, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of famous rock groups collaborating to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that positions them on the brink of greater success.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her fellow members. “This helped a much better album,” she says of the collaborative process. “I struggled at first – There was a sense of a certain amount of pride as a female in music doing everything solo. There’ve been multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I created all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As the band’s stature has grown, so has the scale of their production design. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. At first, she had been on path for a fine art degree before balking at the prospect of heavy loans. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express creativity,” she says. “Whether it’s creating face coverings, outfit planning, learning how to edit music videos … everything is I am unfamiliar with, but it’s exciting to learn on the fly.”

As if creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“People are encouraging me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments were insufficient, the vocalist taught herself how to craft metal mesh – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly left her completely original reptilian-inspired outfit to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

What about the crowd? They loved the fake blood, toy blades and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We played a gig in the Motor City and it looked like a historical festival,” remembers Riley happily. “All attendees was in capes, animal hides, armor.”

This isn’t to say, though, that touring existence as mythical wanderers has been smooth. “Everything is constantly breaking and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have endless ideas as to how I desire the presentation, but we are on the move in a vehicle with limited room. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a grand epic, then compress it into a small space.”

We faced further organizational challenges that didn’t affect mythic characters. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my weapon in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “That was a nightmare, because there is no an alternative version of the concert where I lack a weapon.”

Future Ambitions

As a genuine leader, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “I want to go as far as possible – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is maintaining the handmade style, making sure everything is handmade. This is a feature I want to stay authentic to, whatever we scale to. Oh, and I wish to ride out on a mythical beast every night. Remember how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? The same idea, but on a mythical creature.”