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Although many musicians have borrowed from fantasy lore, only a handful have truly lived the fantasy existence. Certainly, they might adorn their record jackets with monsters, goblins, captive women and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever needed to find a lost mythical horn from a snowy field in the heart of winter? Has a performer devoted hours straining their eyes in the back of a traveling vehicle, fixing their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have had to face these exact challenges and more as they act out their epic fantasies. From knightly, catchy anthems to stunning concerts, outfit creation, music videos and cover artwork, they’re more than a heavy metal group as a full immersive experience.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a costumed concept band,” explains vocalist, guitar player, blade-handler and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van travels from a sold-out gig in Cologne to another in another town – they have multiple performances in the UK this week. “After a couple of performances and were scheduled on a Halloween gig, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. Everything was super-DIY, but we had an amazing time and the energy was electric. I realized, ‘Imagine if we could have such enjoyment every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

From that point on, the ensemble – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a medic from history (low-end instrumentalist), proud bloodsucker (guitarist) and secretive shaman (drummer) – never turned back. The new record, the group’s sophomore release, brings to mind of classic metal icons collaborating to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a epic masterpiece that places them on the verge of far grander things.

This album was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her fellow members. “That contributed to a lot stronger project,” she says of the collaborative process. “I had difficulty at first – I often experienced a particular degree of satisfaction being a woman in music working independently. There’ve been multiple instances where after a show and an audience member will say, ‘Those guys write great riffs!’ and I think, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the scope of their visual elements. “My motto is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on path for a university studies in art before pulling back at the possibility of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to express artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s making masks, costume design, figuring out video editing clips … it’s all stuff I have no experience with, but it’s exciting to learn on the fly.”

As if building the band’s intricate lore (“Everyone’s urging me to record it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes were insufficient, the vocalist self-educated how to make chainmail – a difficult task, though she confessedly delegated her completely original scale armor design to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Fan Response and Obstacles

As for audiences? They embraced the fake blood, soft weapons and papier-mache rat skulls with as much gusto as the band. “We played a gig in Detroit and it looked like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley with affection. “The whole crowd was in capes, sheepskin, metal wear.”

However, this doesn’t mean, though, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been plain sailing. “Everything is frequently damaged and ends up duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Moreover I get endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we tour in a van with limited room. It’s a unique problem to create the impression like a grand epic, then compress it into nothing.”

We faced other logistical problems that wouldn’t have troubled legendary fantasy heroes. “We experienced an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we performed at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my baggage – which had my blade in it – got lost,” says Riley. “It was a nightmare, because there is no an backup plan of the performance where I am without a weapon.”

Goals Ahead

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is gung-ho about the future. “I aim to reach as far as possible – let’s do large venues,” she says. “The only thing that’s truly essential to me is maintaining the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing everything is handmade. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we scale to. Plus, I want to appear on a magical horse every night. Think about how legends do the motorcycle thing? That, but with a unicorn.”