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While numerous rockers have borrowed from epic fantasy, rarely any have truly lived the fantasy existence. Certainly, they might embellish their album sleeves with creatures, beasts, captive women and brawny barbarians, but has any musician ever have to retrieve a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a frost-covered ground in the midst of winter? Did a guitarist spent time straining their eyes in the back of a tour bus, fixing their own chainmail?

Embracing the Mythos

Formed in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have dealt with these exact challenges and others as they live out their heroic dreams. From knightly, catchy anthems to breathtaking performances, outfit creation, videos and album art, they’re not just a heavy metal group as a full immersive experience.

“It wasn’t planned to be a themed musical group,” states vocalist, guitarist, blade-handler and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport travels from a packed show in a German city to another in Aschaffenburg – they have several shows in the UK now. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a spooky event, where I chose at the final moment to wear a costume. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had a blast and the energy was unforgettable. I realized, ‘What if we could have such enjoyment always?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the group – which features Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” together with a pestilence physician (bass player), proud bloodsucker (six-string player) and secretive shaman (drummer) – haven’t looked back. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, conjures visions of famous rock groups collaborating to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that sets them on the brink of greater success.

This album was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her fellow members. “That contributed to a much better project,” she says of the collaborative process. “I struggled at first – I often experienced a specific level of satisfaction being a woman in music working independently. I’ve had multiple instances where after a show and a person will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As the band’s stature has grown, so has the scope of their production design. “The saying I live by is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. Initially, she was on course for a university studies in art before balking at the prospect of heavy loans. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to apply creativity,” she says. “Whether it’s creating face coverings, costume design, mastering post-production song visuals … everything is I have no experience with, but it’s fun to figure it out on the fly.”

As if developing the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to document it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and stitching garments were insufficient, the vocalist self-educated how to make chainmail – a difficult task, though she confessedly left her brand-new scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she grins.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

What about the crowd? They embraced the theatrical gore, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the band. “We had a gig in the Motor City and it looked like a medieval event,” reminisces Riley with affection. “Everyone was in cloaks, sheepskin, chainmail.”

However, this doesn’t mean, however, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been easy. “Everything is frequently damaged and gets fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Moreover I’ll have 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 store it into minimal luggage.”

We’ve encountered other logistical problems that wouldn’t have troubled fictional warriors. “There was an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we appeared at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my blade in it – went missing,” says Riley. “It was a worst-case scenario, because we don’t have an alternative version of the concert where I lack a sword.”

Future Ambitions

As a genuine leader, Riley is gung-ho about the days to come. “I aim to reach as far as possible – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The only thing that’s truly essential to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing everything is custom-made. That’s an element I want to stay authentic to, whatever we achieve. Oh, and I wish to appear on a mythical beast each show. Think about how legends ride bikes on stage? That, but with a unicorn.”