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Although numerous musicians have drawn from fantasy lore, only a handful have fully embraced the enchanted existence. Certainly, they could adorn their album sleeves with monsters, beasts, captive women and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever needed to recover a lost horn from a unicorn from a wintry landscape in the depths of winter? Has a performer taken the time straining their eyes in the back of a traveling vehicle, mending their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Established in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have encountered these exact challenges and others as they embody their heroic dreams. From knightly, memorable songs to stunning live shows, attire styling, music videos and record designs, they’re not just a metal band as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a themed musical group,” states singer, guitarist, sword-wielder and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to one more in Aschaffenburg – they have five gigs in the UK currently. “Initially, we performed twice and got booked on a Halloween gig, where I chose at the final moment to dress up. It was all super-DIY, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was incredible. It occurred to me, ‘What if we could have such enjoyment at every show?’”

The Band’s Evolution

Since then, the band – which includes Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” alongside a pestilence physician (bassist), haughty vampire (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – continued forward. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, evokes images of famous rock groups collaborating to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that sets them on the brink of greater success.

This album was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her fellow members. “That contributed to a lot stronger record,” she says of the team effort. “It was challenging at first – I’d always felt a certain amount of satisfaction being a woman in music doing everything solo. There’ve been numerous occasions where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘Those guys write great riffs!’ and I respond, ‘Hey – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the breadth of their visual elements. “The saying I live by is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on track for a university studies in art before hesitating at the possibility of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to apply artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s making masks, costume design, learning how to edit clips … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to figure it out in the moment.”

Even though developing the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to document it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments didn’t suffice, the singer self-educated how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly entrusted her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a New York-based specialist. “It feels like actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They took to the stage blood, toy blades and crafted rodent bones with similar excitement as the band. “We played a show in the Motor City and it looked like a Renaissance fair,” remembers Riley with affection. “Everyone was in robes, wool garments, chainmail.”

However, this doesn’t mean, though, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “All our gear is always failing and ends up duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with countless concepts as to how I desire the presentation, but we’re traveling in a bus with limited room. It’s a unique problem to give the sense like a mythic tale, then store it into a small space.”

We’ve encountered other logistical problems that would never have plagued legendary fantasy heroes. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at a music event in the European country and my baggage – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “It was a terrible situation, because there’s not an different option of the performance where I don’t have a weapon.”

Goals Ahead

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is eager about the future. “I aim to reach all the way – I dream of stadiums,” she says. “The key element that’s really important to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing all elements is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to stay authentic to, no matter what we scale to. Oh, and I want to appear on a unicorn every night. Remember how legends do the motorcycle thing? The same idea, but with a unicorn.”