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While numerous musicians have drawn from fantasy lore, few have truly lived the mythical existence. Admittedly, they could decorate their album sleeves with creatures, goblins, manacled maidens and muscular warriors, but has any musician ever have to recover a misplaced mythical horn from a snowy field in the heart of winter? Has a guitarist taken the time squinting in the rear of a tour bus, mending their own chainmail?

Embracing the Mythos

Established in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and others as they embody their epic fantasies. Starting with heraldic, catchy tunes to eye-popping live shows, outfit creation, videos and cover artwork, they’re not just a rock act as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a themed musical group,” states singer, guitarist, sword-carrier and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle speeds from a sold-out gig in Cologne to one more in Aschaffenburg – they have five gigs in the UK now. “We played two shows and got booked on a October show, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was incredible. I thought, ‘How about if we could have this much fun every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

Since then, the ensemble – which features Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a pestilence physician (bassist), haughty vampire (six-string player) and mysterious druid (percussionist) – continued forward. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, conjures visions of classic metal icons collaborating to battle their way through a heroic art landscape – a epic masterpiece that places them on the verge of greater success.

This album was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her fellow members. “It made it a lot stronger 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 working independently. I’ve had numerous occasions where I finished performing and some guy will say, ‘The other members compose cool melodies!’ and I think, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

With their growing popularity has increased, so has the scope of their visual elements. “My philosophy is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. She was originally on track for a art school education before hesitating at the idea of heavy loans. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to apply creativity,” she says. “Be it crafting disguises, attire creation, mastering post-production song visuals … it’s all stuff I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to discover in the moment.”

As if developing the group’s detailed mythology (“Everyone’s urging me to document it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments were insufficient, the singer taught herself how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly delegated her all-new scalemail look to a New York-based specialist. “It seems like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Fan Response and Obstacles

As for audiences? They embraced the theatrical gore, toy blades and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the musicians. “We had a gig in the Motor City and it seemed like a medieval event,” remembers Riley happily. “Everyone was in cloaks, animal hides, metal wear.”

That’s not to imply, however, that life on the road as fantasy adventurers has been easy. “Each item is always failing and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we are on the move in a van with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then compress it into a small space.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that wouldn’t have troubled legendary fantasy heroes. “We did have an ‘oh shit’ moment when we appeared at a music event in the European country and my luggage – which had my blade in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “This became a worst-case scenario, because there’s not an alternative version of the performance where I don’t have a blade.”

Upcoming Plans

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is gung-ho about the future. “I aim to reach to the top – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The key element that’s deeply meaningful to me is maintaining the handmade style, guaranteeing everything is custom-made. That’s an element I want to keep true to, whatever we grow into. Oh, and I desire to appear on a mythical beast every night. Remember how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”