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While many musicians have borrowed from high fantasy, rarely any have genuinely embodied the enchanted way of life. Admittedly, they might decorate their album covers with monsters, beasts, captive women and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever been forced to find a missing horn from a unicorn from a frost-covered ground in the midst of winter? Did a guitarist spent time peering in the rear of a traveling vehicle, fixing their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Established in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have encountered such situations and more as they live out their heroic dreams. From heraldic, memorable songs to eye-popping performances, attire styling, videos and album art, they’re not so much a metal band as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a outfit with characters,” says singer, guitarist, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle travels from a sold-out gig in Cologne to another in another town – they’re also doing multiple performances in the UK currently. “Initially, we performed twice and got booked on a spooky event, where I decided spontaneously to wear a costume. It was all completely self-made, but we had an amazing time and the energy was unforgettable. I realized, ‘What if we could have such enjoyment always?’”

Development of Castle Rat

After that, the ensemble – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” together with a pestilence physician (low-end instrumentalist), proud bloodsucker (six-string player) and mysterious druid (drummer) – continued forward. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, brings to mind of legendary heavy bands uniting to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that positions them on the edge of greater success.

This album was a first for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her collaborators. “It made it a lot stronger project,” she says of the collaborative process. “I had difficulty at first – There was a sense of a certain amount of accomplishment as a woman in music working independently. There’ve been numerous occasions where I’ve got off stage and some guy will say, ‘Those guys write great riffs!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

With their growing popularity has increased, so has the scope of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. Initially, she was on track for a university studies in art before pulling back at the possibility of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express artistic expression,” she says. “From making masks, attire creation, learning how to edit clips … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to learn on the fly.”

Even though building the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to document it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, tapping her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the singer learned on her own how to create armor – no mean feat, though she admittedly delegated her completely original scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

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 seemed like a medieval event,” remembers Riley happily. “All attendees was in capes, animal hides, metal wear.”

However, this doesn’t mean, though, that traveling lifestyle as fantasy adventurers has been plain sailing. “Everything is constantly breaking and ends up duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Moreover I come up with numerous thoughts as to how I desire the presentation, but we tour in a vehicle with limited room. It’s a unique problem to create the impression like a mythic tale, then store it into a small space.”

There have been other logistical problems that wouldn’t have troubled fictional warriors. “We did have an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at a music event in Portugal and my baggage – which had my blade in it – got lost,” says Riley. “It was a terrible situation, because there’s not an different option of the performance where I am without a weapon.”

Goals Ahead

Like a true warrior queen, 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 truly essential to me is preserving the handmade style, ensuring each detail is custom-made. It’s a component I want to stay authentic to, whatever we scale to. Additionally, I wish to make an entrance on a magical horse at all performances. Remember how legends do the motorcycle thing? The same idea, but on a mythical creature.”