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Although many rockers have drawn from fantasy lore, rarely any have fully embraced the enchanted existence. Sure, they could embellish their album covers with monsters, goblins, manacled maidens and brawny barbarians, but has an artist ever been forced to recover a missing mythical horn from a snowy field in the depths of winter? Did anyone taken the time peering in the back of a tour bus, repairing their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have encountered such situations and more as they embody their epic fantasies. From medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy songs to breathtaking live shows, costume design, music videos and cover artwork, they’re not just a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a themed musical group,” says singer, guitarist, sword-carrier and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport speeds from a sold-out gig in Cologne to one more in Aschaffenburg – they have five gigs in the UK currently. “After a couple of performances and received an offer on a spooky event, where I decided spontaneously to wear a costume. Everything was highly handmade, but we had so much fun and the atmosphere was electric. I realized, ‘How about if we could have this much fun at every show?’”

Development of Castle Rat

Since then, the band – which features Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” joined by a plague doctor (low-end instrumentalist), aristocratic undead (six-string player) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands collaborating to struggle onward through a mythical painted realm – a epic masterpiece that places them on the brink of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her fellow members. “This helped a lot stronger album,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – There was a sense of a particular degree of pride as a female in music going it alone. There’ve been so many times where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘The other members create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I created all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

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 fine art degree before hesitating at the idea of so much debt. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to apply artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s creating face coverings, attire creation, mastering post-production music videos … it’s all stuff I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to learn in the moment.”

As if developing the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to write it down because all the ideas are,” Riley says, tapping her head) and stitching garments were insufficient, the singer taught herself how to craft metal mesh – no mean feat, though she confessedly entrusted her all-new scale armor design to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They loved the stage blood, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We performed a show in the Motor City and it looked like a medieval event,” remembers Riley happily. “Everyone was in cloaks, animal hides, chainmail.”

This isn’t to say, nevertheless, that life on the road as mythical wanderers has been plain sailing. “Everything is constantly breaking and ends up fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I get countless concepts as to how I want things to look, but we tour in a vehicle with limited room. It’s an interesting challenge to give the sense like a mythic tale, then pack it down into a small space.”

We’ve encountered other logistical problems that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “We experienced an ‘disastrous’ moment when we appeared at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my baggage – which had my weapon in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “That was a nightmare, because there’s not an backup plan of the concert where I don’t have a weapon.”

Goals Ahead

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is gung-ho about the days to come. “I aim to reach all the way – let’s do huge arenas,” she says. “The key element that’s truly essential to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, ensuring all elements is crafted by us. This is a feature I want to stay authentic to, regardless of we grow into. Additionally, I want to make an entrance on a magical horse at all performances. Remember how legends do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”