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While many musicians have taken inspiration from high fantasy, few have truly lived the enchanted existence. Sure, they may adorn their album sleeves with monsters, goblins, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but did a member ever been forced to find a misplaced unicorn horn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Did a guitarist devoted hours peering in the rear of a road transport, mending their own metal mesh?

Embracing the Mythos

Established in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and additional ones as they embody their heroic dreams. Starting with medieval-inspired, memorable songs to eye-popping performances, costume design, videos and album art, they’re not just a rock act as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a themed musical group,” says vocalist, guitar player, blade-handler and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport travels from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to another in another town – they have several shows in the UK now. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a Halloween gig, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. It was all highly handmade, but we had a blast and the atmosphere was unforgettable. It occurred to me, ‘How about if we could have such enjoyment at every show?’”

The Band’s Evolution

After that, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” alongside a medic from history (bass player), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – continued forward. Their latest album, the follow-up record, evokes images of legendary heavy bands collaborating to struggle onward through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that sets them on the verge of bigger achievements.

The Bestiary was a first for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her bandmates. “It made it a much better project,” she says of the group work. “It was challenging at first – I often experienced a certain amount of accomplishment as a woman in music working independently. There’ve been multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and some guy will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I think, ‘Listen – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As their fame has grown, so has the scope of their visual elements. “The saying I live by is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. Initially, she was on path for a university studies in art before hesitating at the idea of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to demonstrate creativity,” she says. “From creating face coverings, attire creation, learning how to edit music videos … these are all things I have no experience with, but it’s fun to learn on the fly.”

Even though developing the band’s intricate lore (“People are encouraging me to record it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, tapping her head) and stitching garments were insufficient, the singer learned on her own how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly left her all-new scale armor design to a expert from NYC. “It seems like actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They loved the theatrical gore, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We had a show in Detroit and it resembled a Renaissance fair,” remembers Riley happily. “The whole crowd was in capes, wool garments, armor.”

This isn’t to say, nevertheless, that traveling lifestyle as fantasy adventurers has been easy. “Each item is constantly breaking and ends up fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Moreover I’ll have numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we’re traveling in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s a fascinating test to create the impression like a grand epic, then compress it into nothing.”

There have been additional practical issues that would never have plagued legendary fantasy heroes. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because there’s not an alternative version of the show where I am without a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “I want to go all the way – let’s do large venues,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing all elements is custom-made. That’s an element I want to stay authentic to, no matter what we grow into. Plus, I want to ride out on a magical horse each show. You know how some artists do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”