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Although plenty of artists have drawn from fantasy lore, only a handful have fully embraced the enchanted lifestyle. Sure, they might embellish their album sleeves with creatures, goblins, captive women and strong fighters, but has any musician ever have to find a missing unicorn horn from a snowy field in the depths of winter? Has anyone spent time squinting in the interior of a road transport, fixing their own chainmail?

Embracing the Mythos

Established in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and more as they act out their epic fantasies. Starting with medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy tunes to eye-popping performances, costume design, 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 outfit with characters,” explains vocalist, guitarist, sword-wielder and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport drives from a sold-out gig in a German city to a second one in another town – they’re also doing multiple performances in the UK currently. “Initially, we performed twice and were scheduled on a October show, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. Everything was highly handmade, but we had so much fun and the energy was incredible. I realized, ‘What if we could have this much fun always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

Since then, the band – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” alongside a medic from history (bassist), aristocratic undead (six-string player) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – haven’t looked back. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands joining forces to fight their path through a heroic art landscape – a grand composition that places them on the verge of far grander things.

The release was a first for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “It made it a much better project,” she says of the collaborative process. “It was challenging at first – I’d always felt a specific level of pride as a female in music doing everything solo. There’ve been numerous occasions where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I wrote all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As their fame has expanded, 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 laughs. She was originally on path for a university studies in art before hesitating at the idea of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to apply artistic expression,” she says. “From crafting disguises, outfit planning, figuring out video editing clips … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to discover on the fly.”

Even though building the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to write it down because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the vocalist self-educated how to create armor – no mean feat, though she confessedly delegated her completely original scale armor design to a New York-based specialist. “It seems like actual armour,” she beams.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

What about the crowd? They loved the fake blood, foam swords and handmade props with as much gusto as the band. “We had a show in Detroit and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” remembers Riley fondly. “Everyone was in robes, sheepskin, metal wear.”

This isn’t to say, though, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been plain sailing. “Each item is constantly breaking and gets duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Plus I get endless ideas as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a bus with limited room. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into minimal luggage.”

We faced additional practical issues that didn’t affect mythic characters. “There was an ‘oh shit’ moment when we played a Portuguese festival in the European country and my baggage – which had my sword in it – got lost,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because there is no an alternative version of the show where I am without a weapon.”

Future Ambitions

As a genuine leader, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “My goal is to the top – let’s do large venues,” she says. “The only thing that’s deeply meaningful to me is maintaining the self-crafted look, making sure all elements is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to keep true to, whatever we scale to. Plus, I wish to ride out on a magical horse each show. Think about how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? Exactly that, but using a unicorn.”