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While numerous musicians have borrowed from fantasy lore, only a handful have genuinely embodied the enchanted way of life. Sure, they may embellish their record jackets with monsters, imps, chained damsels and brawny barbarians, but has any musician ever needed to retrieve a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a snowy field in the midst of winter? Did anyone taken the time squinting in the interior of a tour bus, mending their own armor?

Living the Fantasy

Established in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and more as they embody their epic fantasies. Starting with medieval-inspired, catchy songs to breathtaking live shows, outfit creation, videos and record designs, they’re not just a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” explains singer, guitarist, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a sold-out gig in Cologne to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they have multiple performances in the UK now. “We played two shows and got booked on a Halloween gig, where I decided spontaneously to put on an outfit. The entire setup was super-DIY, but we had an amazing time and the atmosphere was unforgettable. It occurred to me, ‘What if we could have this much fun always?’”

Development of Castle Rat

From that point on, the ensemble – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” joined by a plague doctor (low-end instrumentalist), aristocratic undead (six-string player) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, brings to mind of classic metal icons uniting to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a epic masterpiece that sets them on the verge of bigger achievements.

This album was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her fellow members. “That contributed to a more powerful record,” she says of the team effort. “I struggled at first – I often experienced a particular degree of satisfaction as a woman in music going it alone. I’ve had multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘The other members write great riffs!’ and I’m like, ‘Wait – I created all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As their fame has expanded, so has the scale of their production design. “My philosophy is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on path for a university studies in art before hesitating at the prospect of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s creating face coverings, attire creation, figuring out video editing music videos … it’s all stuff I don’t know how to do, but it’s exciting to learn in the moment.”

As if creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“Everyone’s urging me to document it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, tapping her head) and sewing costumes were insufficient, the singer self-educated how to make chainmail – no mean feat, though she confessedly left her all-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she grins.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They embraced the fake blood, toy blades and papier-mache rat skulls with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We had a concert in the Motor City and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” recalls Riley with affection. “All attendees was in capes, wool garments, metal wear.”

That’s not to imply, nevertheless, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “All our gear is constantly breaking and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Plus I’ll have countless concepts as to how I want things to look, but we are on the move in a van with restricted capacity. It’s a unique problem to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into nothing.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that would never have plagued mythic characters. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we performed at a music event in Portugal and my baggage – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “That was a worst-case scenario, because there’s not an different option of the concert where I don’t have a blade.”

Goals Ahead

As a genuine leader, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “I aim to reach as far as possible – we should play large venues,” she says. “The only thing that’s truly essential to me is maintaining the handmade style, ensuring everything is crafted by us. That’s an element I want to stay authentic to, no matter what we achieve. Oh, and I wish to make an entrance on a magical horse each show. Remember how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but using a unicorn.”