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Although plenty of artists have taken inspiration from fantasy lore, only a handful have truly lived the fantasy way of life. Certainly, they may embellish their record jackets with ghouls, imps, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but did a member ever been forced to retrieve a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a snowy field in the heart of winter? Has anyone spent time peering in the rear of a traveling vehicle, mending their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Established in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and more as they act out their heroic dreams. From medieval-inspired, memorable anthems to breathtaking concerts, costume design, visuals and album art, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a full immersive experience.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” states singer, guitarist, blade-handler and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport speeds from a sold-out gig in Cologne to one more in another town – they are playing several shows in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a October show, where I chose at the final moment to wear a costume. Everything was completely self-made, but we had a blast and the atmosphere was electric. I thought, ‘What if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

Development of Castle Rat

After that, the band – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” alongside a plague doctor (bass player), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – haven’t looked back. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, evokes images of legendary heavy bands joining forces to struggle onward through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a grand composition that places them on the verge of bigger achievements.

The release was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “It made it a more powerful record,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – I’d always felt a certain amount of pride being a woman in music doing everything solo. There’ve been so many times where after a show and an audience member will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I think, ‘Listen – I wrote all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As their fame has expanded, so has the scope of their stage presentation. “The saying I live by is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. She was originally on course for a art school education before pulling back at the idea of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate artistic expression,” she says. “From creating face coverings, attire creation, learning how to edit clips … it’s all stuff I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to discover in the moment.”

Even though creating the group’s detailed mythology (“The team is pushing me to document it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and stitching garments were insufficient, the singer self-educated how to make chainmail – a difficult task, though she confessedly delegated her completely original scale armor design to a expert from NYC. “It seems like actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They embraced the fake blood, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We had a concert in the Motor City and it looked like a medieval event,” reminisces Riley fondly. “Everyone was in robes, sheepskin, chainmail.”

That’s not to imply, however, that life on the road as mythical wanderers has been easy. “Each item is constantly breaking and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I’ll have numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a van with restricted capacity. It’s a unique problem to make it feel like a mythic tale, then pack it down into minimal luggage.”

There have been other logistical problems that didn’t affect legendary fantasy heroes. “We experienced an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we played a Portuguese festival in the European country and my baggage – which had my weapon in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “This became a worst-case scenario, because there is no an backup plan of the performance where I don’t have a sword.”

Upcoming Plans

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is gung-ho about the future. “My goal is as far as possible – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is preserving the handmade style, making sure everything is handmade. That’s an element I want to stay authentic to, no matter what we grow into. Oh, and I wish to ride out on a unicorn each show. You know how legends use vehicles in concerts? The same idea, but with a unicorn.”