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Although plenty of artists have taken inspiration from high fantasy, rarely any have fully embraced the enchanted lifestyle. Admittedly, they may embellish their album sleeves with monsters, beasts, captive women and muscular warriors, but has any musician ever needed to find a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Did a guitarist taken the time squinting in the rear of a traveling vehicle, mending their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Established in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have had to face such situations and others as they live out their epic fantasies. Starting with medieval-inspired, memorable tunes to eye-popping concerts, costume design, visuals and record designs, they’re not so much a rock act as a total artistic immersion.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a outfit with characters,” states vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle travels from a sold-out gig in Cologne to another in another town – they have multiple performances in the UK currently. “We played two shows and received an offer on a October show, where I made a last-minute decision to put on an outfit. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was incredible. I thought, ‘What if we could have so much excitement always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

Since then, the band – which features Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” joined by a plague doctor (bass player), haughty vampire (six-string player) and mysterious druid (drummer) – haven’t looked back. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, evokes images of legendary heavy bands uniting to battle their way through a mythical painted realm – a epic masterpiece that sets them on the brink of far grander things.

This album was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “This helped a much better project,” she says of the group work. “I struggled at first – I often experienced a certain amount of accomplishment as a female in music going it alone. I’ve had so many times where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘The band write great riffs!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As their fame has expanded, so has the breadth of their stage presentation. “The saying I live by is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on course for a art school education before pulling back at the prospect of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to apply artistic expression,” she says. “From creating face coverings, costume design, figuring out video editing clips … these are all things I am unfamiliar with, but it’s enjoyable to figure it out as we go.”

Even though building the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to document it because everything is stored,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and sewing costumes were insufficient, the singer learned on her own how to make chainmail – no mean feat, though she admittedly left her completely original scalemail look to a expert from NYC. “It seems like actual armour,” she beams.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They loved the fake blood, soft weapons and papier-mache rat skulls with as much gusto as the musicians. “We performed a gig in Detroit and it looked like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley happily. “Everyone was in robes, wool garments, chainmail.”

This isn’t to say, however, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “All our gear is constantly breaking and gets repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Moreover I’ll have numerous thoughts as to how I want things to look, but we tour in a van with only so much space. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a grand epic, then compress it into nothing.”

We faced further organizational challenges that wouldn’t have troubled fictional warriors. “We did have an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played a Portuguese festival in Portugal and my baggage – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because there’s not an different option of the show where I don’t have a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is eager about the future. “My goal is as far as possible – I dream of huge arenas,” she says. “The only thing that’s deeply meaningful to me is maintaining the handmade style, making sure each detail is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to keep true to, no matter what we scale to. Oh, and I want to appear on a magical horse at all performances. Think about how legends ride bikes on stage? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”