🔗 Share this article

Although plenty of artists have taken inspiration from high fantasy, rarely any have genuinely embodied the enchanted existence. Admittedly, they may adorn their album covers with monsters, goblins, captive women and strong fighters, but has an artist ever have to find a lost mythical horn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Has a guitarist devoted hours straining their eyes in the interior of a tour bus, mending their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have encountered these exact challenges and more as they act out their epic fantasies. From knightly, memorable tunes to stunning performances, attire styling, music videos and album art, they’re not so much a metal band as a full immersive experience.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” states singer, guitar player, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van drives from a packed show in a German city to another in another town – they have multiple performances in the UK this week. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a October show, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. Everything was highly handmade, but we had an amazing time and the energy was incredible. I thought, ‘How about if we could have such enjoyment always?’”

Development of Castle Rat

Since then, the band – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a pestilence physician (bassist), aristocratic undead (six-string player) and secretive shaman (percussionist) – never turned back. Their latest album, the band’s second album, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands joining forces to struggle onward through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a epic masterpiece that places them on the edge of far grander things.

This album was a first for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her fellow members. “That contributed to a lot stronger project,” she says of the team effort. “I struggled at first – There was a sense of a specific level of accomplishment as a woman in music going it alone. There have been numerous occasions where I finished performing and some guy will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I wrote all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has increased, so has the scope of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. She was originally on course for a art school education before hesitating at the prospect of so much debt. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate creativity,” she says. “Be it making masks, outfit planning, figuring out video editing song visuals … it’s all stuff I am unfamiliar with, but it’s enjoyable to discover as we go.”

Even though creating the group’s detailed mythology (“Everyone’s urging me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments didn’t suffice, the singer self-educated how to craft metal mesh – a difficult task, though she confessedly delegated her all-new scale armor design to a expert from NYC. “It feels like actual armour,” she beams.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They embraced the fake blood, foam swords and handmade props with similar excitement as the musicians. “We performed a gig in Detroit and it resembled a Renaissance fair,” remembers Riley happily. “Everyone was in robes, animal hides, chainmail.”

This isn’t to say, though, that touring existence as fantasy adventurers has been easy. “Each item is frequently damaged and ends up duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with endless ideas as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we tour in a bus with restricted capacity. It’s a unique problem to create the impression like a mythic tale, then pack it down into a small space.”

We’ve encountered other logistical problems that would never have plagued mythic characters. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we performed at a Portuguese festival in Portugal and my baggage – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because there’s not an different option of the show where I don’t have a blade.”

Goals Ahead

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “I aim to reach all the way – I dream of stadiums,” she says. “The key element that’s deeply meaningful to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing each detail is handmade. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, regardless of we achieve. Oh, and I want to ride out on a magical horse at all performances. Remember how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? The same idea, but with a unicorn.”