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While many artists have drawn from fantasy lore, only a handful have truly lived the fantasy existence. Certainly, they might adorn their record jackets with creatures, imps, manacled maidens and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever needed to retrieve a lost horn from a unicorn from a snowy field in the heart of winter? Has a performer devoted hours peering in the interior of a tour bus, fixing their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Established in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have dealt with both these scenarios and additional ones as they act out their grand tales. Starting with knightly, memorable anthems to breathtaking concerts, outfit creation, visuals and album art, they’re more than a heavy metal group as a full immersive experience.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” says singer, guitar player, blade-handler and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle travels from a packed show in a German city to another in another town – they are playing five gigs in the UK this week. “We played two shows and got booked on a October show, where I chose at the final moment to put on an outfit. It was all completely self-made, but we had a blast and the energy was unforgettable. I thought, ‘What if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

The Band’s Evolution

Since then, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a medic from history (bass player), aristocratic undead (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (drummer) – haven’t looked back. Their latest album, the band’s second album, evokes images of famous rock groups uniting to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a grand composition that positions them on the edge of bigger achievements.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her fellow members. “It made it a more powerful album,” she says of the collaborative process. “I struggled at first – There was a sense of a certain amount of accomplishment being a woman in music doing everything solo. There have been numerous occasions where after a show and some guy will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I think, ‘Hey – I wrote 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 an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. Initially, she was on course for a university studies in art before balking at the prospect of so much debt. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express artistry,” she says. “Be it crafting disguises, outfit planning, mastering post-production music videos … these are all things I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to learn in the moment.”

As if building the band’s intricate lore (“Everyone’s urging me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, tapping her head) and making clothing didn’t suffice, the vocalist self-educated how to craft metal mesh – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly left her brand-new scalemail look to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she grins.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They took to the stage blood, toy blades and handmade props with similar excitement as the band. “We played a show in Detroit and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley with affection. “Everyone was in cloaks, sheepskin, chainmail.”

That’s not to imply, nevertheless, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “All our gear is always failing and ends up duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I come up with numerous thoughts as to how I desire the presentation, but we’re traveling in a bus with limited room. It’s a unique problem to create the impression like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into nothing.”

We faced further organizational challenges that wouldn’t have troubled fictional warriors. “There was an ‘oh shit’ moment when we performed at a Portuguese festival in Portugal and my suitcase – which had my weapon in it – got lost,” says Riley. “This became a terrible situation, because there is no an backup plan of the performance where I am without a blade.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is gung-ho about the days to come. “I aim to reach as far as possible – we should play stadiums,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is preserving the handmade style, ensuring each detail is handmade. It’s a component I want to stay authentic to, regardless of we achieve. Additionally, I desire to ride out on a magical horse each show. Remember how legends do the motorcycle thing? The same idea, but with a unicorn.”