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While numerous musicians have drawn from epic fantasy, only a handful have truly lived the enchanted lifestyle. Certainly, they may embellish their album sleeves with creatures, imps, manacled maidens and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever have to find a missing horn from a unicorn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Did a guitarist spent time squinting in the rear of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Formed in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and additional ones as they embody their grand tales. Starting with knightly, memorable anthems to eye-popping live shows, attire styling, videos and album art, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” explains vocalist, guitar player, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van drives from a packed show in a German city to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they are playing five gigs in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a October show, where I chose at the final moment to wear a costume. Everything was highly handmade, but we had a blast and the atmosphere was electric. It occurred to me, ‘Imagine if we could have such enjoyment every time?’”

The Band’s Evolution

From that point on, the group – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” joined by a medic from history (low-end instrumentalist), aristocratic undead (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (drummer) – continued forward. The new record, the band’s second album, evokes images of famous rock groups joining forces to struggle onward through a mythical painted realm – a grand composition that positions them on the edge of greater success.

The release was a first for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “That contributed to a lot stronger project,” she says of the team effort. “I had difficulty at first – There was a sense of a specific level of satisfaction as a woman in music doing everything solo. I’ve had so many times where I finished performing and an audience member will say, ‘Those guys write great riffs!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I created all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As the band’s stature has increased, so has the breadth of their production design. “My motto is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. At first, she had been on track for a university studies in art before pulling back at the idea of financial burden. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to apply artistic expression,” she says. “Be it making masks, costume design, mastering post-production music videos … these are all things I am unfamiliar with, but it’s exciting to figure it out on the fly.”

As if building the group’s detailed mythology (“Everyone’s urging me to document it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments wasn’t enough, the singer taught herself how to make chainmail – a difficult task, though she admittedly left her all-new scale armor design to a expert from NYC. “It’s as if actual armour,” she grins.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They loved the theatrical gore, foam swords and handmade props with similar excitement as the group. “We played a show in Detroit and it looked like a medieval event,” remembers Riley with affection. “All attendees was in robes, sheepskin, metal wear.”

This isn’t to say, nevertheless, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been smooth. “Everything is always failing and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Moreover I come up with endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we’re traveling in a van with limited room. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into nothing.”

We faced further organizational challenges that would never have plagued mythic characters. “We experienced an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my blade in it – went missing,” says Riley. “It was a nightmare, because we don’t have an different option of the concert where I don’t have a sword.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is gung-ho about the what’s next. “My goal is to the top – let’s do stadiums,” she says. “The only thing that’s truly essential to me is keeping the DIY aesthetic, making sure each detail is handmade. It’s a component I want to remain faithful to, whatever we achieve. Oh, and I wish to ride out on a unicorn every night. Remember how legends do the motorcycle thing? That, but with a unicorn.”