🔗 Share this article

Although plenty of musicians have taken inspiration from epic fantasy, rarely any have truly lived the enchanted existence. Certainly, they might decorate their record jackets with creatures, imps, captive women and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever needed to retrieve a missing mythical horn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Did a guitarist devoted hours squinting in the interior of a road transport, mending their own metal mesh?

Living the Fantasy

Established in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and additional ones as they act out their heroic dreams. Starting with knightly, memorable anthems to breathtaking live shows, attire styling, music videos and record designs, they’re not so much a metal band as a full immersive experience.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a outfit with characters,” explains vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport drives from a packed show in a German city to one more in Aschaffenburg – they have several shows in the UK this week. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a October show, where I decided spontaneously to wear a costume. It was all completely self-made, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was incredible. It occurred to me, ‘What if we could have so much excitement always?’”

Growth of the Group

After that, the ensemble – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” alongside a plague doctor (bassist), haughty vampire (six-string player) and secretive shaman (percussionist) – continued forward. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, evokes images of famous rock groups collaborating to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that sets them on the brink of bigger achievements.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her fellow members. “That contributed to a much better project,” she says of the team effort. “It was challenging at first – There was a sense of a certain amount of satisfaction being a woman in music going it alone. There have been numerous occasions where I’ve got off stage and some guy will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I created all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As their fame has grown, so has the breadth of their visual elements. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. At first, she had been on path for a university studies in art before pulling back at the idea of heavy loans. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to demonstrate artistic expression,” she says. “From creating face coverings, outfit planning, mastering post-production music videos … these are all things I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to figure it out in the moment.”

Even though developing the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, indicating her head) and stitching garments didn’t suffice, the vocalist learned on her own how to craft metal mesh – a difficult task, though she confessedly entrusted her all-new scalemail look to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They took to the theatrical gore, toy blades and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We performed a gig in the Motor City and it looked like a historical festival,” remembers Riley with affection. “Everyone was in cloaks, wool garments, armor.”

That’s not to imply, nevertheless, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “All our gear is frequently damaged and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I get endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we’re traveling in a bus with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

There have been other logistical problems that wouldn’t have troubled fictional warriors. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we appeared at a music event in Portugal and my baggage – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “It was a terrible situation, because there is no an backup plan of the show where I lack a sword.”

Upcoming Plans

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is gung-ho about the future. “My goal is all the way – we should play large venues,” she says. “The main aspect that’s truly essential to me is keeping the handmade style, guaranteeing each detail is custom-made. That’s an element I want to keep true to, regardless of we scale to. Additionally, I desire to ride out on a magical horse each show. You know how legends use vehicles in concerts? The same idea, but using a unicorn.”