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Although many artists have borrowed from fantasy lore, few have fully embraced the fantasy existence. Admittedly, they might decorate their album sleeves with monsters, goblins, chained damsels and brawny barbarians, but has an artist ever been forced to find a lost mythical horn from a wintry landscape in the midst of winter? Has a guitarist spent time peering in the back of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Created in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have dealt with both these scenarios and others as they embody their grand tales. From knightly, catchy anthems to breathtaking live shows, outfit creation, videos and record designs, they’re not so much a metal band as a total artistic immersion.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a costumed concept band,” says singer, guitarist, sword-wielder and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport travels from a sold-out gig in Cologne to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they are playing five gigs in the UK currently. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a spooky event, where I chose at the final moment to dress up. It was all super-DIY, but we had a blast and the atmosphere was unforgettable. I realized, ‘How about if we could have this much fun always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

From that point on, the group – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a plague doctor (bassist), proud bloodsucker (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – haven’t looked back. The Bestiary, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of classic metal icons collaborating to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that places them on the brink of bigger achievements.

The release was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “That contributed to a lot stronger album,” she says of the group work. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a particular degree of accomplishment being a woman in music going it alone. There’ve been multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and some guy will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. At first, she had been on path for a fine art degree before pulling back at the idea of so much debt. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s creating face coverings, attire creation, figuring out video editing music videos … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to discover as we go.”

As if building the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and sewing costumes were insufficient, the singer learned on her own how to create armor – a difficult task, though she confessedly left her completely original scale armor design to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

What about the crowd? They loved the theatrical gore, toy blades and handmade props with similar excitement as the band. “We performed a gig in Detroit and it seemed like a historical festival,” recalls Riley fondly. “The whole crowd was in cloaks, wool garments, metal wear.”

That’s not to imply, however, that traveling lifestyle as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “Everything is constantly breaking and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have numerous thoughts as to how I desire the presentation, but we are on the move in a bus with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into minimal luggage.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that didn’t affect legendary fantasy heroes. “There was an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we played a music event in Portugal and my luggage – which had my weapon in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “That was a worst-case scenario, because there’s not an alternative version of the show where I lack a blade.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is enthusiastic about the future. “I aim to reach as far as possible – I dream of huge arenas,” she says. “The key element that’s really important to me is keeping the self-crafted look, guaranteeing each detail is custom-made. It’s a component I want to remain faithful to, whatever we grow into. Additionally, I desire to ride out on a mythical beast each show. Think about how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? That, but on a mythical creature.”