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While numerous artists have drawn from fantasy lore, rarely any have truly lived the enchanted lifestyle. Admittedly, they could decorate their album covers with ghouls, imps, captive women and strong fighters, but has any musician ever have to recover a lost horn from a unicorn from a wintry landscape in the depths of winter? Has a performer spent time straining their eyes in the interior of a tour bus, mending their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have dealt with these exact challenges and others as they act out their heroic dreams. Starting with heraldic, memorable anthems to eye-popping performances, costume design, music videos and cover artwork, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a complete sensory journey.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” explains vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van drives from a sold-out gig in a German city to another in Aschaffenburg – they have several shows in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and got booked on a Halloween gig, where I chose at the final moment to wear a costume. Everything was highly handmade, but we had a blast and the feeling in the room was electric. It occurred to me, ‘How about if we could have such enjoyment always?’”

Development of Castle Rat

After that, the band – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a pestilence physician (low-end instrumentalist), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and secretive shaman (rhythm keeper) – never turned back. Their latest album, the band’s second album, brings to mind of classic metal icons collaborating to struggle onward through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a grand composition that places them on the brink of greater success.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her collaborators. “That contributed to a lot stronger project,” she says of the team effort. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a particular degree of satisfaction being a woman in music going it alone. I’ve had numerous occasions where I finished performing and some guy will say, ‘The band compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has increased, so has the breadth of their visual elements. “The saying I live by is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on course for a art school education before pulling back at the possibility of heavy loans. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to express creativity,” she says. “Be it making masks, outfit planning, learning how to edit music videos … everything is I have no experience with, but it’s exciting to discover in the moment.”

Even though creating the band’s intricate lore (“The team is pushing me to document it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the vocalist taught herself how to craft metal mesh – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly left her brand-new scalemail look to a New York-based specialist. “It seems like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They loved the stage blood, foam swords and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the musicians. “We had a show in Detroit and it seemed like a historical festival,” recalls Riley fondly. “Everyone was in cloaks, wool garments, chainmail.”

However, this doesn’t mean, though, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been easy. “All our gear is always failing and gets duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Moreover I come up with numerous thoughts as to how I want things to look, but we’re traveling in a bus with only so much space. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a mythic tale, then store it into minimal luggage.”

We faced other logistical problems that didn’t affect fictional warriors. “There was an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we appeared at a music event in Portugal and my luggage – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “That was a worst-case scenario, because there is no an alternative version of the show where I lack a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is enthusiastic about the days to come. “I aim to reach to the top – we should play stadiums,” she says. “The key element that’s deeply meaningful to me is keeping the handmade style, guaranteeing each detail is custom-made. That’s an element I want to keep true to, whatever we grow into. Plus, I desire to appear on a unicorn every night. Think about how some artists use vehicles in concerts? That, but on a mythical creature.”