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Although plenty of rockers have drawn from fantasy lore, rarely any have truly lived the enchanted existence. Certainly, they might embellish their album covers with monsters, goblins, chained damsels and brawny barbarians, but has an artist ever been forced to retrieve a misplaced mythical horn from a wintry landscape in the depths of winter? Did anyone devoted hours peering in the interior of a tour bus, fixing their own armor?

Immersed in the Legend

Formed in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have had to face these exact challenges and others as they live out their grand tales. From heraldic, catchy tunes to stunning performances, outfit creation, visuals and record designs, they’re not just a metal band as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a themed musical group,” states vocalist, guitarist, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van drives from a packed show in Cologne to another in another town – they’re also doing five gigs in the UK now. “Initially, we performed twice and were scheduled on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. Everything was super-DIY, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was incredible. It occurred to me, ‘What if we could have so much excitement always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

From that point on, the band – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” joined by a medic from history (bassist), haughty vampire (lead guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (drummer) – haven’t looked back. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands uniting to fight their path through a heroic art landscape – a epic masterpiece that positions them on the edge of bigger achievements.

This album 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 collaborative process. “I had difficulty at first – There was a sense of a specific level of satisfaction being a woman in music working independently. There have been multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and some guy will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the scope of their visual elements. “My motto is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. At first, she had been on path for a fine art degree before hesitating at the possibility of heavy loans. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate artistic expression,” she says. “From making masks, attire creation, figuring out video editing clips … these are all things I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to figure it out as we go.”

As if developing the group’s detailed mythology (“Everyone’s urging me to document it because everything is stored,” Riley says, tapping her head) and stitching garments wasn’t enough, the vocalist taught herself how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly entrusted her all-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 stage blood, foam swords and handmade props with as much gusto as the band. “We played a concert in the Motor City and it looked like a medieval event,” remembers Riley happily. “All attendees was in capes, animal hides, metal wear.”

That’s not to imply, though, that traveling lifestyle as fantasy adventurers has been easy. “Each item is frequently damaged and ends up fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Moreover I get countless concepts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a van with limited room. It’s a unique problem to create the impression like a grand epic, then store it into nothing.”

We’ve encountered other logistical problems that wouldn’t have troubled fictional warriors. “We did have an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in the European country and my baggage – which had my sword in it – got lost,” says Riley. “It was a terrible situation, because we don’t have an different option of the concert where I don’t have a sword.”

Upcoming Plans

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is eager about the future. “My goal is as far as possible – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s deeply meaningful to me is preserving the self-crafted look, making sure each detail is crafted by us. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we scale to. Plus, I wish to appear on a magical horse at all performances. You know how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but using a unicorn.”