🔗 Share this article

While many musicians have borrowed from epic fantasy, few have genuinely embodied the mythical existence. Sure, they could embellish their album sleeves with creatures, beasts, manacled maidens and brawny barbarians, but has any musician ever needed to recover a misplaced unicorn horn from a snowy field in the midst of winter? Has a performer taken the time squinting in the back of a road transport, mending their own armor?

Embracing the Mythos

Established in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have dealt with both these scenarios and additional ones as they live out their heroic dreams. From knightly, catchy songs to breathtaking concerts, attire styling, music videos and album art, they’re not just a metal band as a full immersive experience.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a outfit with characters,” states vocalist, guitarist, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport travels from a sold-out gig in Cologne to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they are playing five gigs in the UK this week. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a spooky event, where I decided spontaneously to put on an outfit. The entire setup was super-DIY, but we had an amazing time and the feeling in the room was electric. I thought, ‘How about if we could have such enjoyment every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

Since then, the group – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” joined by a medic from history (bassist), proud bloodsucker (six-string player) and enigmatic nature priest (drummer) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, brings to mind of famous rock groups uniting to battle their way through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that places them on the brink of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “This helped a much better project,” she says of the team effort. “It was challenging at first – I often experienced a specific level of pride as a female in music going it alone. There’ve been multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘Those guys create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As their fame has grown, so has the breadth of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. She was originally on path for a fine art degree before balking at the possibility of so much debt. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, costume design, figuring out video editing song visuals … these are all things I have no experience with, but it’s fun to figure it out as we go.”

As if developing the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to write it down because everything is stored,” Riley says, tapping her head) and making clothing didn’t suffice, the singer taught herself how to create armor – a difficult task, though she confessedly left her completely original reptilian-inspired outfit to a expert from NYC. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They loved the theatrical gore, soft weapons and handmade props with equal enthusiasm as the band. “We performed a show in the Motor City and it looked like a medieval event,” reminisces Riley happily. “Everyone was in robes, animal hides, chainmail.”

This isn’t to say, however, that traveling lifestyle as fantasy adventurers has been plain sailing. “Everything is frequently damaged and gets duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Moreover I’ll have endless ideas as to how I desire the presentation, but we’re traveling in a van with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to give the sense like a mythic tale, then pack it down into a small space.”

We’ve encountered further organizational challenges that didn’t affect mythic characters. “There was an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we performed at a Portuguese festival in Portugal and my luggage – which had my weapon in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “It was a nightmare, because there’s not an alternative version of the performance where I don’t have a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is gung-ho about the days to come. “I aim to reach all the way – I dream of huge arenas,” she says. “The only thing that’s deeply meaningful to me is keeping the handmade style, making sure each detail is crafted by us. That’s an element I want to remain faithful to, regardless of we achieve. Additionally, I desire to ride out on a unicorn at all performances. You know how some artists use vehicles in concerts? The same idea, but using a unicorn.”