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While plenty of artists have taken inspiration from fantasy lore, only a handful have truly lived the fantasy way of life. Certainly, they may adorn their album sleeves with creatures, goblins, captive women and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever been forced to find a missing unicorn horn from a frost-covered ground in the midst of winter? Has a guitarist devoted hours peering in the back of a traveling vehicle, fixing their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Formed in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have had to face such situations and others as they live out their grand tales. From medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy tunes to eye-popping live shows, outfit creation, music videos and record designs, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” states singer, guitarist, sword-wielder and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle speeds from a packed show in a German city to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they are playing several shows in the UK now. “We played two shows and got booked on a spooky event, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had so much fun and the energy was electric. It occurred to me, ‘What if we could have so much excitement always?’”

Growth of the Group

Since then, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a plague doctor (low-end instrumentalist), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and secretive shaman (drummer) – haven’t looked back. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of famous rock groups joining forces to struggle onward through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that sets them on the verge of far grander things.

This album was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “This helped a much better album,” she says of the collaborative process. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a certain amount of satisfaction being a woman in music working independently. There’ve been multiple instances where after a show and a person will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I think, ‘Wait – I composed all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As the band’s stature has increased, so has the scope of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. Initially, she was on course for a art school education before hesitating at the possibility of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express artistic expression,” she says. “From creating face coverings, attire creation, learning how to edit song visuals … these are all things I have no experience with, but it’s exciting to discover in the moment.”

Even though creating the group’s detailed mythology (“The team is pushing me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the singer taught herself how to create armor – a difficult task, though she admittedly left her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

Regarding the fans? They took to the fake blood, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with similar excitement as the musicians. “We had a concert in Detroit and it looked like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley with affection. “The whole crowd was in robes, wool garments, metal wear.”

However, this doesn’t mean, however, that life on the road as mythical wanderers has been easy. “All our gear is always failing and gets repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I come up with countless concepts as to how I desire the presentation, but we tour in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s a fascinating test to create the impression like a grand epic, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

We’ve encountered further organizational challenges that would never have plagued mythic characters. “There was an ‘oh shit’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in the European country and my baggage – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “It was a terrible situation, because there’s not an different option of the concert where I don’t have a weapon.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is gung-ho about the days to come. “I want to go all the way – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The key element that’s really important to me is keeping the DIY aesthetic, making sure each detail is crafted by us. That’s an element I want to remain faithful to, whatever we grow into. Additionally, I wish to make an entrance on a mythical beast every night. Remember how legends do the motorcycle thing? The same idea, but with a unicorn.”