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Although plenty of rockers have drawn from high fantasy, only a handful have genuinely embodied the fantasy existence. Admittedly, they may decorate their album covers with monsters, imps, captive women and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever needed to recover a lost mythical horn from a snowy field in the heart of winter? Did anyone devoted hours squinting in the back of a traveling vehicle, mending their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Established in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and additional ones as they embody their grand tales. Starting with heraldic, catchy tunes to stunning concerts, outfit creation, videos and record designs, they’re more than a heavy metal group as a complete sensory journey.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” states singer, guitarist, sword-carrier and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to a second one in another town – they’re also doing several shows in the UK currently. “We played two shows and were scheduled on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had an amazing time and the feeling in the room was incredible. I thought, ‘How about if we could have such enjoyment always?’”

Growth of the Group

After that, the band – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” joined by a medic from history (bass player), proud bloodsucker (six-string player) and enigmatic nature priest (drummer) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, evokes images of classic metal icons uniting to struggle onward through a mythical painted realm – a grand composition that positions them on the edge of greater success.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “It made it a much better album,” she says of the collaborative process. “It was challenging at first – There was a sense of a specific level of accomplishment as a woman in music working independently. I’ve had so many times where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘The band compose cool melodies!’ and I’m like, ‘Wait – I composed all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “The saying I live by is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. At first, she had been on path for a fine art degree before pulling back at the idea of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express creativity,” she says. “From making masks, outfit planning, learning how to edit song visuals … it’s all stuff I have no experience with, but it’s exciting to discover as we go.”

As if creating the group’s detailed mythology (“Everyone’s urging me to record it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and sewing costumes wasn’t enough, the vocalist taught herself how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly entrusted her completely original reptilian-inspired outfit to a New York-based specialist. “It seems like actual armour,” she grins.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They took to the fake blood, foam swords and handmade props with equal enthusiasm as the band. “We had a show in the Motor City and it looked like a medieval event,” reminisces Riley fondly. “All attendees was in robes, animal hides, armor.”

That’s not to imply, nevertheless, that life on the road as mythical wanderers has been smooth. “Each item is always failing and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Moreover I get endless ideas as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we tour in a van with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a grand epic, then store it into a small space.”

There have been additional practical issues that didn’t affect legendary fantasy heroes. “We did have an ‘disastrous’ moment when we appeared at SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my suitcase – which had my sword in it – got lost,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because there is no an alternative version of the performance where I am without a blade.”

Future Ambitions

As a genuine leader, Riley is gung-ho about the future. “I want to go all the way – let’s do stadiums,” she says. “The key element that’s deeply meaningful to me is keeping the handmade style, ensuring each detail is custom-made. That’s an element I want to keep true to, no matter what we grow into. Plus, I wish to appear on a mythical beast each show. Think about how some artists ride bikes on stage? Exactly that, but on a mythical creature.”