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Although plenty of musicians have borrowed from epic fantasy, only a handful have genuinely embodied the fantasy existence. Certainly, they may embellish their record jackets with creatures, goblins, chained damsels and muscular warriors, but did a member ever been forced to recover a misplaced mythical horn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Has anyone devoted hours peering in the back of a traveling vehicle, fixing their own chainmail?

Embracing the Mythos

Established in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and others as they live out their epic fantasies. From knightly, catchy songs to stunning live shows, costume design, videos and record designs, they’re not just a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” says vocalist, guitar player, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport speeds from a sold-out gig in Cologne to a second one in another town – they are playing several shows in the UK currently. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a spooky event, where I chose at the final moment to dress up. Everything was highly handmade, but we had a blast and the feeling in the room was incredible. I realized, ‘What if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

Development of Castle Rat

After that, the ensemble – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” alongside a plague doctor (bassist), haughty vampire (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (drummer) – haven’t looked back. Their latest album, the follow-up record, conjures visions of classic metal icons uniting to battle their way through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that positions them on the verge of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her collaborators. “This helped a lot stronger record,” she says of the team effort. “I struggled at first – I often experienced a certain amount of pride being a woman in music doing everything solo. There’ve been so many times where after a show and an audience member will say, ‘The other members write great riffs!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I created all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

With their growing popularity has increased, so has the breadth of their production design. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. At first, she had been on track for a fine art degree before balking at the prospect of heavy loans. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate artistic expression,” she says. “From creating face coverings, attire creation, learning how to edit song visuals … these are all things I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to learn as we go.”

As if creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“Everyone’s urging me to record it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the vocalist learned on her own how to craft metal mesh – no mean feat, though she confessedly delegated her brand-new scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They loved the theatrical gore, soft weapons and papier-mache rat skulls with similar excitement as the group. “We performed a gig in the Motor City and it seemed like a historical festival,” recalls Riley fondly. “The whole crowd was in capes, wool garments, chainmail.”

However, this doesn’t mean, though, that traveling lifestyle as fantasy adventurers has been easy. “Everything is always failing and gets repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Moreover I get numerous thoughts as to how I want things to look, but we tour in a vehicle with restricted capacity. It’s an interesting challenge to give the sense like a grand epic, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

We’ve encountered other logistical problems that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “We experienced an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played a music event in Portugal and my luggage – which had my weapon in it – went missing,” says Riley. “This became a worst-case scenario, because we don’t have an different option of the show where I am without a blade.”

Goals Ahead

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is gung-ho about the what’s next. “My goal is as far as possible – let’s do huge arenas,” she says. “The key element that’s truly essential to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing all elements is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to stay authentic to, regardless of we scale to. Plus, I want to appear on a mythical beast every night. Think about how some artists use vehicles in concerts? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”