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Although numerous rockers have taken inspiration from fantasy lore, few have truly lived the fantasy way of life. Sure, they may adorn their album sleeves with ghouls, beasts, captive women and strong fighters, but has an artist ever been forced to find a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Has a guitarist spent time straining their eyes in the back of a road transport, repairing their own chainmail?

Embracing the Mythos

Created in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have had to face these exact challenges and more as they act out their heroic dreams. Starting with heraldic, catchy tunes to eye-popping performances, outfit creation, music videos and record designs, they’re more than a metal band as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a themed musical group,” states singer, guitarist, blade-handler and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport travels from a full-capacity concert in a German city to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they’re also doing several shows in the UK this week. “After a couple of performances and were scheduled on a October show, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. Everything was super-DIY, but we had so much fun and the energy was electric. I realized, ‘Imagine if we could have such enjoyment at every show?’”

The Band’s Evolution

From that point on, the group – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a plague doctor (bassist), haughty vampire (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (rhythm keeper) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the group’s sophomore release, brings to mind of classic metal icons collaborating to struggle onward through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a epic masterpiece that sets them on the brink of greater success.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her fellow members. “It made it a much better project,” she says of the team effort. “I struggled at first – There was a sense of a specific level of pride as a female in music working independently. There have been so many times where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Wait – I composed all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As the band’s stature has increased, so has the scope of their visual elements. “The saying I live by is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on path for a university studies in art before pulling back at the prospect of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply artistic expression,” she says. “Be it making masks, attire creation, figuring out video editing song visuals … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s exciting to figure it out on the fly.”

As if creating the band’s intricate lore (“People are encouraging me to write it down because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes were insufficient, the singer learned on her own how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly left her completely original scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she grins.

Fan Response and Obstacles

As for audiences? They embraced the stage blood, foam swords and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the band. “We performed a concert in Detroit and it looked like a historical festival,” remembers Riley fondly. “All attendees was in robes, wool garments, armor.”

This isn’t to say, though, that life on the road as fantasy adventurers has been easy. “Everything is constantly breaking and gets fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with countless concepts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a van with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

There have been other logistical problems that didn’t affect legendary fantasy heroes. “There was an ‘oh shit’ moment when we performed at a Portuguese festival in Portugal and my suitcase – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “That was a nightmare, because there is no an alternative version of the concert where I lack a sword.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is enthusiastic about the future. “I want to go to the top – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is keeping the self-crafted look, making sure all elements is custom-made. This is a feature I want to keep true to, no matter what we scale to. Additionally, I want to appear on a magical horse each show. You know how some artists use vehicles in concerts? That, but using a unicorn.”