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While many rockers have borrowed from high fantasy, only a handful have genuinely embodied the enchanted way of life. Sure, they could embellish their album sleeves with creatures, beasts, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but has an artist ever needed to recover a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a snowy field in the midst of winter? Did anyone spent time squinting in the interior of a road transport, mending their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Established in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and others as they act out their grand tales. Starting with medieval-inspired, memorable songs to stunning live shows, costume design, music videos and record designs, they’re more than a metal band as a complete sensory journey.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a outfit with characters,” explains singer, guitarist, sword-wielder and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport speeds from a sold-out gig in Cologne to one more in Aschaffenburg – they are playing five gigs in the UK this week. “We played two shows and received an offer on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. It was all completely self-made, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was unforgettable. It occurred to me, ‘How about if we could have such enjoyment always?’”

Development of Castle Rat

From that point on, the group – which features Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” joined by a pestilence physician (bass player), proud bloodsucker (six-string player) and secretive shaman (percussionist) – continued forward. The new record, the follow-up record, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands joining forces to battle their way through a mythical painted realm – a grand composition that places them on the edge of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a first for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her collaborators. “That contributed to a much better project,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – There was a sense of a specific level of satisfaction as a woman in music going it alone. I’ve had so many times where after a show and a person will say, ‘The other members compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As the band’s stature has grown, so has the scope of their production design. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. Initially, she was on track for a art school education before balking at the idea of heavy loans. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to express artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s making masks, attire creation, figuring out video editing music videos … it’s all stuff I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to discover on the fly.”

As if creating the band’s intricate lore (“People are encouraging me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and making clothing didn’t suffice, the singer learned on her own how to make chainmail – a difficult task, though she admittedly left her all-new scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she grins.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They loved the fake blood, foam swords and crafted rodent bones with as much gusto as the band. “We played a show in Detroit and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley with affection. “All attendees was in robes, sheepskin, metal wear.”

This isn’t to say, though, that traveling lifestyle as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “Everything is always failing and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I come up with numerous thoughts as to how I desire the presentation, but we tour in a vehicle with limited room. It’s a fascinating test to create the impression like a grand epic, then compress it into nothing.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that didn’t affect legendary fantasy heroes. “We experienced an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we appeared at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my baggage – which had my weapon in it – got lost,” says Riley. “It was a terrible situation, because we don’t have an backup plan of the show where I don’t have a blade.”

Future Ambitions

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is gung-ho about the future. “My goal is to the top – we should play stadiums,” she says. “The key element that’s deeply meaningful to me is keeping the DIY aesthetic, making sure each detail is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to remain faithful to, whatever we scale to. Plus, I wish to appear on a magical horse every night. You know how some artists do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but using a unicorn.”