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While numerous artists have taken inspiration from epic fantasy, rarely any have fully embraced the mythical way of life. Sure, they might decorate their record jackets with ghouls, beasts, chained damsels and strong fighters, but has an artist ever have to retrieve a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a snowy field in the heart of winter? Has a performer devoted hours straining their eyes in the interior of a road transport, repairing their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and additional ones as they live out their heroic dreams. From medieval-inspired, catchy songs to eye-popping performances, costume design, music videos and album art, they’re not just a metal band as a total artistic immersion.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a outfit with characters,” states singer, guitar player, blade-handler and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van drives from a packed show in Cologne to one more in another town – they are playing five gigs in the UK currently. “We played two shows and got booked on a October show, where I decided spontaneously to put on an outfit. The entire setup was super-DIY, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was electric. I thought, ‘What if we could have so much excitement always?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the ensemble – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” joined by a plague doctor (bassist), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (rhythm keeper) – continued forward. Their latest album, the follow-up record, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands joining forces to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that positions them on the edge of greater success.

The release was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her fellow members. “This helped a more powerful record,” she says of the team effort. “It was challenging at first – I often experienced a certain amount of satisfaction as a woman in music doing everything solo. I’ve had multiple instances where after a show and an audience member will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I think, ‘Listen – I created all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

With their growing popularity has expanded, so has the scope of their visual elements. “My motto is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. At first, she had been on course for a fine art degree before pulling back at the possibility of financial burden. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to apply artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, outfit planning, figuring out video editing clips … these are all things I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to learn as we go.”

Even though creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to record it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, indicating her head) and stitching garments didn’t suffice, the singer self-educated how to create armor – no mean feat, though she confessedly left her brand-new scale armor design to a professional in the city. “It seems like actual armour,” she grins.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They loved the fake blood, toy blades and papier-mache rat skulls with as much gusto as the group. “We performed a gig in the Motor City and it looked like a Renaissance fair,” recalls Riley happily. “All attendees was in capes, sheepskin, metal wear.”

That’s not to imply, however, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “Everything is constantly breaking and gets repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Moreover I’ll have numerous thoughts as to how I desire the presentation, but we’re traveling in a bus with restricted capacity. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into nothing.”

There have been other logistical problems that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at a music event in the European country and my luggage – which had my weapon in it – got lost,” says Riley. “This became a terrible situation, because there’s not an alternative version of the performance where I don’t have a blade.”

Future Ambitions

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is enthusiastic about the days to come. “My goal is to the top – I dream of huge arenas,” she says. “The key element that’s truly essential to me is maintaining the self-crafted look, ensuring everything is handmade. This is a feature I want to stay authentic to, regardless of we achieve. Plus, I want to appear on a magical horse each show. Remember how legends do the motorcycle thing? The same idea, but with a unicorn.”