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While numerous artists have drawn from epic fantasy, only a handful have genuinely embodied the mythical lifestyle. Certainly, they might embellish their record jackets with creatures, goblins, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but has any musician ever have to find a lost mythical horn from a snowy field in the midst of winter? Did anyone taken the time straining their eyes in the interior of a traveling vehicle, fixing their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered these exact challenges and more as they embody their grand tales. Starting with medieval-inspired, catchy songs to breathtaking performances, costume design, videos and album art, they’re more than a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a outfit with characters,” explains vocalist, guitar player, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to one more in another town – they have several shows in the UK currently. “We played two shows and received an offer on a October show, where I made a last-minute decision to put on an outfit. It was all highly handmade, but we had an amazing time and the feeling in the room was unforgettable. I thought, ‘How about if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

The Band’s Evolution

After that, the group – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” joined by a plague doctor (low-end instrumentalist), proud bloodsucker (guitarist) and secretive shaman (percussionist) – never turned back. The new record, the follow-up record, conjures visions of classic metal icons uniting to struggle onward through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a grand composition that sets them on the brink of far grander things.

This album was a first for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her fellow members. “This helped a lot stronger album,” she says of the group work. “I struggled at first – There was a sense of a specific level of satisfaction being a woman in music doing everything solo. There have been numerous occasions where after a show and some guy will say, ‘The other members create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Hey – I created all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

With their growing popularity has grown, so has the scale of their production design. “The saying I live by is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on track for a fine art degree before hesitating at the possibility of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply 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 exciting to figure it out as we go.”

As if building the band’s intricate lore (“People are encouraging me to write it down because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and stitching garments were insufficient, the singer self-educated how to make chainmail – no mean feat, though she admittedly left her all-new scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It seems like actual armour,” she beams.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They loved the theatrical gore, foam swords and handmade props with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We had a show in Detroit and it looked like a medieval event,” reminisces Riley with affection. “Everyone was in cloaks, wool garments, chainmail.”

That’s not to imply, nevertheless, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “Each item is always failing and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I come up with numerous thoughts as to how I want things to look, but we’re traveling in a vehicle with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into nothing.”

We faced additional practical issues that would never have plagued mythic characters. “We did have an ‘oh shit’ moment when we performed at a music event in Portugal and my luggage – which had my blade in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “It was a worst-case scenario, because there is no an alternative version of the performance where I don’t have a blade.”

Goals Ahead

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is eager about the future. “My goal is all the way – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is maintaining the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing everything is custom-made. This is a feature I want to stay authentic to, whatever we grow into. Additionally, I wish to appear on a unicorn at all performances. Think about how some artists ride bikes on stage? The same idea, but with a unicorn.”