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Although numerous musicians have drawn from high fantasy, few have truly lived the fantasy way of life. Admittedly, they could decorate their record jackets with creatures, goblins, captive women and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever needed to retrieve a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a snowy field in the midst of winter? Did anyone taken the time squinting in the interior of a road transport, repairing their own metal mesh?

Living the Fantasy

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have encountered these exact challenges and others as they act out their epic fantasies. From knightly, earworm-heavy anthems to breathtaking performances, attire styling, music videos and cover artwork, they’re more than a rock act as a full immersive experience.

“It wasn’t planned to be a costumed concept band,” explains singer, guitar player, sword-carrier and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a packed show in Cologne to one more in another town – they are playing several shows in the UK currently. “We played two shows and got booked on a Halloween gig, where I chose at the final moment to dress up. Everything was highly handmade, but we had a blast and the energy was electric. I thought, ‘How about if we could have such enjoyment every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

After that, the ensemble – which features Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” together with a medic from history (bassist), haughty vampire (lead guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (drummer) – never turned back. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, brings to mind of classic metal icons uniting to struggle onward through a heroic art landscape – a heroic opus that positions them on the verge of greater success.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her fellow members. “That contributed to a lot stronger record,” she says of the collaborative process. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a specific level of satisfaction as a female in music going it alone. I’ve had multiple instances where after a show and an audience member will say, ‘The band compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Hey – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As their fame has expanded, so has the breadth of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. She was originally on path for a fine art degree before balking at the possibility of heavy loans. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to express artistic expression,” she says. “Be it making masks, costume design, figuring out video editing clips … these are all things I don’t know how to do, but it’s exciting to figure it out in the moment.”

As if developing the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to write it down because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes wasn’t enough, the vocalist taught herself how to craft metal mesh – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly delegated her brand-new scalemail look to a expert from NYC. “It’s as if actual armour,” she grins.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They loved the fake blood, toy blades and handmade props with similar excitement as the band. “We played a concert in Detroit and it resembled a medieval event,” recalls Riley happily. “Everyone was in cloaks, animal hides, metal wear.”

However, this doesn’t mean, nevertheless, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “Each item is constantly breaking and ends up repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Moreover I come up with endless ideas as to how I desire the presentation, but we’re traveling in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s a fascinating test to create the impression like a mythic tale, then compress it into nothing.”

There have been further organizational challenges that didn’t affect mythic characters. “We did have an ‘disastrous’ moment when we appeared at SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my luggage – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “That was a worst-case scenario, because there’s not an alternative version of the concert where I don’t have a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is eager about the future. “I aim to reach as far as possible – we should play large venues,” she says. “The main aspect that’s deeply meaningful to me is preserving the self-crafted look, making sure everything is crafted by us. This is a feature I want to stay authentic to, whatever we achieve. Oh, and I want to ride out on a unicorn each show. You know how legends use vehicles in concerts? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”