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While numerous rockers have taken inspiration from epic fantasy, few have truly lived the enchanted way of life. Admittedly, they could embellish their album sleeves with creatures, beasts, chained damsels and muscular warriors, but did a member ever have to find a lost mythical horn from a snowy field in the depths of winter? Has a guitarist spent time squinting in the rear of a tour bus, mending their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Formed in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and more as they live out their heroic dreams. Starting with heraldic, catchy anthems to breathtaking concerts, outfit creation, visuals and cover artwork, they’re not just a metal band as a total artistic immersion.

“It wasn’t planned to be a costumed concept band,” says vocalist, guitarist, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport speeds from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to another in another town – they are playing multiple performances in the UK now. “After a couple of performances and received an offer on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to put on an outfit. It was all completely self-made, but we had a blast and the feeling in the room was electric. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have such enjoyment at every show?’”

Development of Castle Rat

Since then, the group – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” joined by a medic from history (bassist), haughty vampire (guitarist) and secretive shaman (drummer) – haven’t looked back. The new record, the follow-up record, conjures visions of classic metal icons uniting to struggle onward through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a epic masterpiece that sets them on the edge of greater success.

The release was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her fellow members. “That contributed to a lot stronger record,” she says of the collaborative process. “I struggled at first – I often experienced a particular degree of accomplishment being a woman in music going it alone. I’ve had numerous occasions where I finished performing and some guy will say, ‘The other members create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As their fame has grown, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on path for a university studies in art before hesitating at the idea of heavy loans. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to apply artistic expression,” she says. “Be it creating face coverings, attire creation, learning how to edit clips … these are all things I have no experience with, but it’s enjoyable to figure it out in the moment.”

Even though developing the group’s detailed mythology (“Everyone’s urging me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments wasn’t enough, the vocalist self-educated how to craft metal mesh – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly left her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

What about the crowd? They took to the fake blood, toy blades and papier-mache rat skulls with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We performed a concert in the Motor City and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” recalls Riley happily. “Everyone was in robes, animal hides, metal wear.”

This isn’t to say, however, that touring existence as fantasy adventurers has been smooth. “Everything is constantly breaking and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Moreover I come up with countless concepts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a vehicle with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a larger-than-life story, then store it into minimal luggage.”

We’ve encountered other logistical problems that didn’t affect mythic characters. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we played a music event in the European country and my baggage – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “It was a nightmare, because we don’t have an alternative version of the performance where I don’t have a blade.”

Goals Ahead

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is eager about the future. “My goal is as far as possible – let’s do stadiums,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is maintaining the handmade style, making sure everything is custom-made. It’s a component I want to keep true to, regardless of we grow into. Plus, I want to ride out on a magical horse every night. Remember how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but using a unicorn.”