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While plenty of rockers have drawn from fantasy lore, rarely any have genuinely embodied the enchanted existence. Certainly, they could embellish their album covers with monsters, imps, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but has an artist ever needed to recover a lost horn from a unicorn from a wintry landscape in the midst of winter? Did anyone spent time straining their eyes in the rear of a road transport, fixing their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have had to face such situations and more as they act out their epic fantasies. Starting with heraldic, memorable anthems to eye-popping performances, outfit creation, music videos and cover artwork, they’re not so much a metal band as a complete sensory journey.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” explains singer, guitarist, blade-handler and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport speeds from a packed show in Cologne to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they have several shows in the UK currently. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a Halloween gig, where I chose at the final moment to dress up. The entire setup was highly handmade, but we had so much fun and the atmosphere was electric. I realized, ‘How about if we could have so much excitement always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

After that, the group – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a plague doctor (bassist), aristocratic undead (lead guitarist) and secretive shaman (drummer) – haven’t looked back. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, conjures visions of classic metal icons joining forces to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that places them on the edge of bigger achievements.

The Bestiary was a first for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “That contributed to a more powerful album,” she says of the collaborative process. “It was challenging at first – I often experienced a specific level of satisfaction as a woman in music working independently. I’ve had numerous occasions where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I wrote all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As their fame has expanded, so has the breadth of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on course for a university studies in art before hesitating at the possibility of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, attire creation, mastering post-production clips … everything is I have no experience with, but it’s exciting to discover as we go.”

As if creating the group’s detailed mythology (“The team is pushing me to record it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and stitching garments didn’t suffice, the vocalist self-educated how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly delegated her completely original scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They loved the theatrical gore, soft weapons and handmade props with equal enthusiasm as the band. “We had a gig in the Motor City and it seemed like a historical festival,” remembers Riley happily. “Everyone was in capes, wool garments, metal wear.”

This isn’t to say, nevertheless, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been plain sailing. “Everything is frequently damaged and ends up duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have countless concepts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we tour in a vehicle with restricted capacity. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a grand epic, then store it into a small space.”

There have been additional practical issues that wouldn’t have troubled legendary fantasy heroes. “We experienced an ‘disastrous’ moment when we appeared at a Portuguese festival in Portugal and my suitcase – which had my blade in it – got lost,” says Riley. “This became a worst-case scenario, because we don’t have an different option of the concert where I am without a sword.”

Goals Ahead

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “I aim to reach all the way – let’s do large venues,” she says. “The only thing that’s deeply meaningful to me is keeping the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing everything is handmade. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we grow into. Oh, and I desire to make an entrance on a mythical beast each show. Think about how famous musicians use vehicles in concerts? That, but using a unicorn.”