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Although plenty of rockers have borrowed from high fantasy, few have truly lived the mythical lifestyle. Certainly, they could embellish their album sleeves with monsters, imps, chained damsels and strong fighters, but did a member ever been forced to find a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Did a guitarist devoted hours peering in the back of a road transport, mending their own armor?

Living the Fantasy

Created in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have encountered these exact challenges and additional ones as they embody their grand tales. Starting with knightly, earworm-heavy songs to breathtaking performances, attire styling, visuals and cover artwork, they’re more than a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” says vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van drives from a packed show in a German city to one more in another town – they have multiple performances in the UK now. “Initially, we performed twice and were scheduled on a Halloween gig, where I decided spontaneously to put on an outfit. It was all super-DIY, but we had an amazing time and the energy was unforgettable. It occurred to me, ‘How about if we could have such enjoyment at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the ensemble – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” alongside a pestilence physician (bassist), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (rhythm keeper) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, evokes images of classic metal icons collaborating to battle their way through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a grand composition that positions them on the verge of greater success.

This album was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her fellow members. “It made it a more powerful project,” she says of the collaborative process. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a certain amount of pride as a female in music working independently. There have been multiple instances where I finished performing and some guy will say, ‘Those guys create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I wrote all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has grown, so has the scope of their production design. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. She was originally on path for a art school education before pulling back at the prospect of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to apply creativity,” she says. “From making masks, attire creation, mastering post-production song visuals … everything is I am unfamiliar with, but it’s exciting to discover in the moment.”

As if developing the band’s intricate lore (“The team is pushing me to write it down because everything is stored,” Riley says, tapping her head) and stitching garments were insufficient, the singer learned on her own how to create armor – a difficult task, though she confessedly delegated her brand-new scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They embraced the fake blood, foam swords and handmade props with as much gusto as the musicians. “We played a gig in the Motor City and it looked like a medieval event,” remembers Riley happily. “The whole crowd was in cloaks, animal hides, metal wear.”

That’s not to imply, though, that traveling lifestyle as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “Everything is frequently damaged and gets repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with countless concepts as to how I desire the presentation, but we tour in a van with restricted capacity. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a grand epic, then pack it down into a small space.”

There have been additional practical issues that didn’t affect legendary fantasy heroes. “We did have an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in the European country and my baggage – which had my weapon in it – got lost,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because we don’t have an alternative version of the concert where I am without a blade.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “I aim to reach as far as possible – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s truly essential to me is keeping the handmade style, ensuring each detail is handmade. That’s an element I want to stay authentic to, whatever we scale to. Oh, and I wish to make an entrance on a magical horse at all performances. You know how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? The same idea, but using a unicorn.”