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Although many rockers have borrowed from high fantasy, few have fully embraced the fantasy existence. Admittedly, they could embellish their record jackets with ghouls, goblins, chained damsels and muscular warriors, but has any musician ever needed to find a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a snowy field in the heart of winter? Has anyone taken the time straining their eyes in the rear of a road transport, repairing their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Established in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered such situations and additional ones as they act out their epic fantasies. From medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy tunes to eye-popping concerts, costume design, visuals and cover artwork, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a themed musical group,” explains vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van travels from a full-capacity concert in a German city to a second one in another town – they have five gigs in the UK currently. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a Halloween gig, where I chose at the final moment to wear a costume. It was all completely self-made, but we had an amazing time and the atmosphere was incredible. I thought, ‘What if we could have so much excitement always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

From that point on, the band – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a medic from history (low-end instrumentalist), haughty vampire (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (rhythm keeper) – never turned back. The new record, the group’s sophomore release, evokes images of legendary heavy bands joining forces to struggle onward through a heroic art landscape – a epic masterpiece that places them on the brink of greater success.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “That contributed to a lot stronger album,” she says of the team effort. “I had difficulty at first – I often experienced a specific level of pride being a woman in music doing everything solo. There’ve been multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and an audience member will say, ‘Those guys create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has expanded, so has the scope of their stage presentation. “The saying I live by is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on track for a art school education before balking at the possibility of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to apply creativity,” she says. “Be it creating face coverings, outfit planning, figuring out video editing music videos … it’s all stuff I have no experience with, but it’s exciting to discover as we go.”

As if creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“People are encouraging me to document it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes wasn’t enough, the singer self-educated how to create armor – no mean feat, though she confessedly entrusted her all-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a expert from NYC. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

What about the crowd? They embraced the fake blood, toy blades and handmade props with similar excitement as the band. “We had a gig in Detroit and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley fondly. “All attendees was in robes, sheepskin, chainmail.”

However, this doesn’t mean, though, that traveling lifestyle as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been plain sailing. “All our gear is always failing and ends up duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I come up with numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we’re traveling in a van with limited room. It’s an interesting challenge to make it feel like a mythic tale, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

There have been further organizational challenges that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we appeared at a music event in Portugal and my suitcase – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “That was a worst-case scenario, because there is no an alternative version of the concert where I don’t have a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is enthusiastic about the what’s next. “I want to go all the way – I dream of stadiums,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is keeping the self-crafted look, ensuring all elements is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to stay authentic to, regardless of we scale to. Plus, I wish to ride out on a magical horse every night. Think about how some artists use vehicles in concerts? That, but on a mythical creature.”