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Although numerous artists have borrowed from high fantasy, rarely any have truly lived the mythical lifestyle. Sure, they may adorn their album covers with ghouls, beasts, chained damsels and brawny barbarians, but has an artist ever needed to find a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Did anyone spent time peering in the interior of a road transport, mending their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face such situations and others as they embody their grand tales. Starting with heraldic, catchy songs to eye-popping concerts, attire styling, visuals and cover artwork, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a full immersive experience.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a costumed concept band,” states vocalist, guitarist, sword-wielder and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van drives from a full-capacity concert in a German city to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they have five gigs in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and were scheduled on a October show, where I made a last-minute decision to put on an outfit. Everything was completely self-made, but we had a blast and the energy was unforgettable. I realized, ‘How about if we could have so much excitement always?’”

Development of Castle Rat

After that, the band – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a pestilence physician (bassist), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (rhythm keeper) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, evokes images of classic metal icons joining forces to struggle onward through a mythical painted realm – a grand composition that places them on the brink of far grander things.

The release was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her collaborators. “That contributed to a more powerful project,” she says of the collaborative process. “It was challenging at first – I’d always felt a specific level of accomplishment being a woman in music doing everything solo. There have been numerous occasions where I finished performing and an audience member will say, ‘The other members create awesome guitar parts!’ and I think, ‘Hey – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As the band’s stature has grown, so has the scope of their visual elements. “The saying I live by is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. She was originally on course for a art school education before hesitating at the idea of heavy loans. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate creativity,” she says. “Be it crafting disguises, costume design, mastering post-production clips … these are all things I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to learn in the moment.”

As if building the band’s intricate lore (“The team is pushing me to document it because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the singer self-educated how to create armor – a difficult task, though she confessedly delegated her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a New York-based specialist. “It seems like actual armour,” she beams.

Fan Response and Obstacles

What about the crowd? They embraced the theatrical gore, foam swords and handmade props with equal enthusiasm as the musicians. “We played a concert in Detroit and it looked like a Renaissance fair,” recalls Riley fondly. “Everyone was in capes, sheepskin, metal wear.”

However, this doesn’t mean, though, that life on the road as fantasy adventurers has been smooth. “Each item is always failing and ends up duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Plus I’ll have endless ideas as to how I desire the presentation, but we are on the move in a van with restricted capacity. It’s a unique problem to create the impression like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into nothing.”

We’ve encountered other logistical problems that would never have plagued mythic characters. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we appeared at a music event in the European country and my baggage – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because there’s not an alternative version of the show where I don’t have a blade.”

Goals Ahead

As a genuine leader, Riley is enthusiastic about the what’s next. “I want to go all the way – I dream of huge arenas,” she says. “The key element that’s truly essential to me is maintaining the handmade style, ensuring everything is handmade. It’s a component I want to keep true to, no matter what we scale to. Oh, and I desire to ride out on a mythical beast at all performances. You know how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but on a mythical creature.”