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Although many artists have drawn from high fantasy, only a handful have genuinely embodied the enchanted lifestyle. Admittedly, they may adorn their album covers with monsters, imps, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but has any musician ever needed to recover a lost mythical horn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Has anyone taken the time peering in the back of a road transport, mending their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have dealt with both these scenarios and others as they live out their grand tales. From knightly, catchy anthems to breathtaking performances, outfit creation, visuals and record designs, they’re not just a heavy metal group as a full immersive experience.

“It wasn’t planned to be a themed musical group,” explains singer, guitarist, sword-wielder and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport travels from a sold-out gig in a German city to another in Aschaffenburg – they have several shows in the UK now. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a Halloween gig, where I made a last-minute decision to put on an outfit. The entire setup was highly handmade, but we had so much fun and the energy was incredible. It occurred to me, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement every time?’”

The Band’s Evolution

Since then, the ensemble – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” alongside a medic from history (bassist), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and secretive shaman (percussionist) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, conjures visions of classic metal icons joining forces to fight their path through a heroic art landscape – a grand composition that positions them on the verge of greater success.

This album was a first for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her collaborators. “It made it a lot stronger project,” she says of the collaborative process. “It was challenging at first – I often experienced a particular degree of satisfaction being a woman in music going it alone. There’ve been numerous occasions where after a show and some guy will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I created all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As their fame has grown, so has the scale of their production design. “My philosophy is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. At first, she had been on path for a fine art degree before hesitating at the idea of so much debt. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to express artistic expression,” she says. “Be it creating face coverings, costume design, figuring out video editing song visuals … it’s all stuff I have no experience with, but it’s exciting to discover on the fly.”

Even though developing the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to record it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and making clothing wasn’t enough, the vocalist learned on her own how to create armor – no mean feat, though she admittedly left her all-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

What about the crowd? They loved the fake blood, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with similar excitement as the group. “We had a concert in Detroit and it looked like a medieval event,” reminisces Riley happily. “Everyone was in robes, animal hides, metal wear.”

This isn’t to say, nevertheless, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been smooth. “Everything is constantly breaking and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Moreover I’ll have endless ideas as to how I desire the presentation, but we tour in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to give the sense like a larger-than-life story, then compress it into nothing.”

We faced additional practical issues that didn’t affect fictional warriors. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we appeared at SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my baggage – which had my weapon in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “It was a worst-case scenario, because we don’t have an alternative version of the show where I lack a sword.”

Upcoming Plans

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is gung-ho about the future. “My goal is to the top – let’s do stadiums,” she says. “The main aspect that’s deeply meaningful to me is preserving the self-crafted look, ensuring everything is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to keep true to, regardless of we achieve. Plus, I wish to ride out on a unicorn each show. Remember how legends use vehicles in concerts? That, but with a unicorn.”