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Although plenty of artists have taken inspiration from high fantasy, rarely any have fully embraced the enchanted way of life. Certainly, they could decorate their album sleeves with ghouls, beasts, captive women and brawny barbarians, but has an artist ever have to retrieve a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a wintry landscape in the midst of winter? Did a guitarist devoted hours squinting in the interior of a road transport, fixing their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face these exact challenges and others as they act out their epic fantasies. From knightly, catchy tunes to eye-popping concerts, attire styling, music videos and record designs, they’re not just a metal band as a full immersive experience.

“It wasn’t planned to be a costumed concept band,” says singer, guitarist, sword-carrier and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport drives from a packed show in a German city to one more in Aschaffenburg – they’re also doing five gigs in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and were scheduled on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to put on an outfit. Everything was super-DIY, but we had an amazing time and the energy was unforgettable. I realized, ‘Imagine if we could have such enjoyment at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

After that, the group – which features Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” joined by a plague doctor (bass player), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – continued forward. The new record, the band’s second album, conjures visions of classic metal icons collaborating to battle their way through a heroic art landscape – a grand composition that positions them on the verge of far grander things.

This album was a first for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “That contributed to a lot stronger album,” she says of the group work. “It was challenging at first – I often experienced a certain amount of accomplishment being a woman in music working independently. I’ve had multiple instances where after a show and a person will say, ‘The other members create awesome guitar parts!’ and I think, ‘Listen – I wrote all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As their fame has grown, so has the scope of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. At first, she had been on course for a university studies in art before hesitating at the possibility of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to apply artistic expression,” she says. “Be it crafting disguises, costume design, mastering post-production music videos … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to learn on the fly.”

As if building the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the singer learned on her own how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly entrusted her all-new scale armor design to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she grins.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They took to the theatrical gore, foam swords and handmade props with equal enthusiasm as the musicians. “We had a gig in the Motor City and it looked like a medieval event,” reminisces Riley fondly. “Everyone was in cloaks, wool garments, chainmail.”

This isn’t to say, however, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been easy. “Everything is frequently damaged and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Moreover I get numerous thoughts as to how I desire the presentation, but we’re traveling in a bus with limited room. It’s an interesting challenge to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then store it into nothing.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that didn’t affect legendary fantasy heroes. “We experienced an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we performed at a music event in the European country and my baggage – which had my weapon in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “It was a nightmare, because there’s not an backup plan of the performance where I lack a blade.”

Goals Ahead

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is gung-ho about the days to come. “I want to go to the top – let’s do large venues,” she says. “The key element that’s truly essential to me is preserving the self-crafted look, making sure each detail is handmade. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, whatever we scale to. Plus, I wish to appear on a magical horse every night. Remember how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”