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While numerous musicians have drawn from fantasy lore, only a handful have fully embraced the mythical lifestyle. Admittedly, they could adorn their record jackets with monsters, goblins, chained damsels and brawny barbarians, but has an artist ever needed to find a lost mythical horn from a frost-covered ground in the heart of winter? Has a performer spent time peering in the rear of a tour bus, fixing their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Established in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have encountered such situations and additional ones as they live out their grand tales. From heraldic, memorable tunes to eye-popping performances, attire styling, music videos and album art, they’re not so much a metal band as a complete sensory journey.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a themed musical group,” explains vocalist, guitar player, sword-carrier and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van travels from a full-capacity concert in a German city to one more 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 wear a costume. It was all super-DIY, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was electric. I realized, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

The Band’s Evolution

Since then, the group – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” joined by a plague doctor (low-end instrumentalist), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (rhythm keeper) – continued forward. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, brings to mind of classic metal icons joining forces to struggle onward through a mythical painted realm – a epic masterpiece that sets them on the edge of greater success.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor 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 particular degree of satisfaction being a woman in music working independently. There’ve been so many times where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘Those guys create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has grown, so has the breadth of their visual elements. “The saying I live by is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on track for a university studies in art before pulling back at the possibility of heavy loans. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate artistic expression,” she says. “From making masks, costume design, learning how to edit song visuals … everything is I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to discover in the moment.”

Even though developing the ensemble’s complex backstory (“People are encouraging me to record it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments wasn’t enough, the singer taught herself how to create armor – no mean feat, though she confessedly left her completely original reptilian-inspired outfit to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Fan Response and Obstacles

As for audiences? They embraced the stage blood, toy blades and papier-mache rat skulls with similar excitement as the musicians. “We played a show in the Motor City and it seemed like a historical festival,” recalls Riley fondly. “The whole crowd was in capes, wool garments, armor.”

That’s not to imply, however, that life on the road as fantasy adventurers has been plain sailing. “Each item is frequently damaged and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Plus I get numerous thoughts as to how I desire the presentation, but we are on the move in a van with limited room. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a grand epic, then compress it into nothing.”

There have been additional practical issues that wouldn’t have troubled fictional warriors. “We experienced an ‘oh shit’ moment when we appeared at a Portuguese festival in Portugal and my baggage – which had my blade in it – got lost,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because there is no an backup plan of the show where I am without a weapon.”

Goals Ahead

As a genuine leader, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “I aim to reach as far as possible – we should play large venues,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is keeping the self-crafted look, making sure all elements is crafted by us. That’s an element I want to keep true to, whatever we achieve. Additionally, I want to appear on a mythical beast each show. You know how legends do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”