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Although many rockers have taken inspiration from epic fantasy, only a handful have genuinely embodied the mythical way of life. Admittedly, they may embellish their album sleeves with monsters, beasts, chained damsels and strong fighters, but has an artist ever been forced to retrieve a missing unicorn horn from a wintry landscape in the depths of winter? Did anyone devoted hours squinting in the rear of a road transport, fixing their own chainmail?

Embracing the Mythos

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and others as they live out their epic fantasies. Starting with medieval-inspired, catchy anthems to stunning performances, outfit creation, videos and record designs, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a costumed concept band,” explains singer, guitarist, sword-wielder and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport speeds from a full-capacity concert in a German city to a second one in another town – they are playing several shows in the UK this week. “We played two shows and got booked on a spooky event, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. It was all highly handmade, but we had a blast and the energy was incredible. I thought, ‘What if we could have such enjoyment every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

Since then, the group – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a pestilence physician (bassist), haughty vampire (six-string player) and secretive shaman (rhythm keeper) – haven’t looked back. The new record, the group’s sophomore release, evokes images of famous rock groups collaborating to struggle onward through a heroic art landscape – a heroic opus that sets them on the verge of greater success.

This album was a first for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her collaborators. “That contributed to a more powerful record,” she says of the group work. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a particular degree of satisfaction being a woman in music doing everything solo. There have been numerous occasions where I’ve got off stage and an audience member will say, ‘The other members create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I wrote 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 it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on track for a art school education before pulling back at the idea of so much debt. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to demonstrate artistry,” she says. “From making masks, outfit planning, mastering post-production clips … it’s all stuff I have no experience with, but it’s enjoyable to discover as we go.”

As if developing the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, tapping her head) and sewing costumes wasn’t enough, the vocalist learned on her own how to create armor – a difficult task, though she confessedly left her completely original scale armor design to a New York-based specialist. “It seems like actual armour,” she grins.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They embraced the stage blood, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with as much gusto as the group. “We performed a show in Detroit and it resembled a historical festival,” remembers Riley happily. “Everyone was in cloaks, wool garments, chainmail.”

This isn’t to say, however, that life on the road as fantasy adventurers has been plain sailing. “All our gear is constantly breaking and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I get numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we tour in a bus with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to create the impression like a grand epic, then compress it into a small space.”

We faced additional practical issues that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “We did have an ‘oh shit’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my blade in it – went missing,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because there is no an backup plan of the performance where I lack a sword.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is eager about the future. “I want to go to the top – I dream of stadiums,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is keeping the handmade style, ensuring everything is handmade. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, regardless of we scale to. Plus, I wish to make an entrance on a magical horse each show. You know how famous musicians use vehicles in concerts? The same idea, but using a unicorn.”