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While many rockers have taken inspiration from epic fantasy, rarely any have genuinely embodied the enchanted existence. Admittedly, they might embellish their album covers with monsters, imps, chained damsels and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever been forced to retrieve a missing unicorn horn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Did anyone taken the time squinting in the rear of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own armor?

Living the Fantasy

Created in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have had to face such situations and additional ones as they act out their grand tales. Starting with heraldic, memorable anthems to stunning performances, costume design, music videos and album art, they’re not just a metal band as a total artistic immersion.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” says vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport speeds from a packed show in a German city to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they have five gigs in the UK currently. “We played two shows and received an offer on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. It was all highly handmade, but we had an amazing time and the energy was incredible. I realized, ‘Imagine if we could have this much fun every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

From that point on, the group – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” alongside a medic from history (bassist), haughty vampire (guitarist) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – haven’t looked back. The new record, the follow-up record, brings to mind of classic metal icons collaborating to struggle onward through a mythical painted realm – a epic masterpiece that places them on the verge of bigger achievements.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “It made it a lot stronger album,” she says of the team effort. “I struggled at first – There was a sense of a specific level of accomplishment being a woman in music working independently. There have been numerous occasions where after a show and a person will say, ‘The band write great riffs!’ and I think, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has increased, so has the breadth of their visual elements. “My philosophy is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. She was originally on path for a fine art degree before hesitating at the idea of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s making masks, attire creation, mastering post-production song visuals … these are all things I have no experience with, but it’s enjoyable to learn on the fly.”

Even though creating the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to record it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes were insufficient, the singer taught herself how to craft metal mesh – a difficult task, 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

Regarding the fans? They took to the theatrical gore, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with as much gusto as the band. “We played a gig in Detroit and it resembled a Renaissance fair,” remembers Riley happily. “The whole crowd was in capes, animal hides, armor.”

This isn’t to say, nevertheless, that life on the road as fantasy adventurers has been easy. “Everything is always failing and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I get numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we’re traveling in a bus with limited room. It’s a unique problem to create the impression like a mythic tale, then compress it into nothing.”

We’ve encountered further organizational challenges that didn’t affect legendary fantasy heroes. “We experienced an ‘disastrous’ moment when we appeared at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my luggage – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “It was a nightmare, because there’s not an alternative version of the show where I lack a weapon.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is enthusiastic about the future. “I aim to reach to the top – let’s do large venues,” she says. “The key element that’s deeply meaningful to me is keeping the DIY aesthetic, making sure everything is custom-made. That’s an element I want to keep true to, regardless of we achieve. Plus, I want to ride out on a mythical beast each show. Remember how legends use vehicles in concerts? Exactly that, but on a mythical creature.”