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While numerous musicians have drawn from epic fantasy, rarely any have genuinely embodied the mythical existence. Admittedly, they may decorate their album sleeves with ghouls, imps, chained damsels and strong fighters, but did a member ever needed to retrieve a lost unicorn horn from a wintry landscape in the depths of winter? Did a performer taken the time straining their eyes in the back of a tour bus, fixing their own armor?

Embracing the Mythos

Established in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered these exact challenges and additional ones as they act out their epic fantasies. Starting with heraldic, catchy anthems to breathtaking performances, attire styling, visuals and record designs, they’re not so much a metal band as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a costumed concept band,” states vocalist, guitarist, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle speeds from a sold-out gig in Cologne to one more in Aschaffenburg – they are playing multiple performances in the UK currently. “We played two shows and were scheduled on a Halloween gig, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. The entire setup was highly handmade, but we had an amazing time and the energy was unforgettable. I realized, ‘What if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

The Band’s Evolution

From that point on, the band – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” joined by a pestilence physician (low-end instrumentalist), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (rhythm keeper) – never turned back. The new record, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands collaborating to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that sets them on the edge of far grander things.

This album was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her collaborators. “It made it a much better record,” she says of the group work. “I struggled at first – I often experienced a particular degree of accomplishment as a woman in music going it alone. I’ve had multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘Those guys write great riffs!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I wrote all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

With their growing popularity has grown, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on course for a art school education before balking at the possibility of financial burden. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to express artistic expression,” she says. “Be it making masks, outfit planning, learning how to edit music videos … it’s all stuff I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to discover on the fly.”

Even though creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to document it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, tapping her head) and making clothing wasn’t enough, the singer learned on her own how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly delegated her all-new scalemail look to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They took to the fake blood, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the musicians. “We had a gig in Detroit and it looked like a historical festival,” reminisces Riley with affection. “The whole crowd was in cloaks, sheepskin, chainmail.”

However, this doesn’t mean, though, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “Each item is always failing and gets duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have endless ideas as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we tour in a bus with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a mythic tale, then compress it into nothing.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that didn’t affect fictional warriors. “We did have an ‘oh shit’ moment when we performed at a music event in Portugal and my suitcase – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because there’s not an different option of the performance where I am without a weapon.”

Goals Ahead

As a genuine leader, Riley is enthusiastic about the days to come. “My goal is to the top – let’s do huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is keeping the handmade style, ensuring all elements is crafted by us. That’s an element I want to remain faithful to, whatever we achieve. Oh, and I want to appear on a mythical beast at all performances. Think about how some artists ride bikes on stage? Exactly that, but using a unicorn.”