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Although plenty of rockers have drawn from fantasy lore, rarely any have truly lived the mythical lifestyle. Certainly, they might adorn their album covers with monsters, imps, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but did a member ever been forced to recover a lost mythical horn from a frost-covered ground in the midst of winter? Has a guitarist devoted hours squinting in the rear of a road transport, mending their own chainmail?

Embracing the Mythos

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and additional ones as they embody their grand tales. Starting with medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy anthems to breathtaking live shows, attire styling, visuals and album art, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a costumed concept band,” explains vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they are playing several shows in the UK this week. “We played two shows and got booked on a October show, where I chose at the final moment to put on an outfit. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had an amazing time and the atmosphere was electric. It occurred to me, ‘Imagine if we could have this much fun at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

Since then, the ensemble – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a pestilence physician (bassist), haughty vampire (six-string player) and enigmatic nature priest (drummer) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, brings to mind of famous rock groups uniting to struggle onward through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that positions them on the edge of far grander things.

The release was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her collaborators. “This helped a more powerful record,” she says of the group work. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a particular degree of accomplishment being a woman in music working independently. There have been numerous occasions where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘The band write great riffs!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the breadth of their visual elements. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. At first, she had been on track for a university studies in art before hesitating at the idea of so much debt. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express artistry,” she says. “Be it creating face coverings, costume design, mastering post-production song visuals … these are all things I have no experience with, but it’s fun to figure it out on the fly.”

Even though developing the band’s intricate lore (“The team is pushing me to write it down because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and stitching garments were insufficient, the singer taught herself how to craft metal mesh – no mean feat, though she confessedly left her all-new scale armor design to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she grins.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They took to the stage blood, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with as much gusto as the band. “We played a show in the Motor City and it resembled a historical festival,” reminisces Riley with affection. “All attendees was in capes, animal hides, armor.”

This isn’t to say, nevertheless, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been plain sailing. “Each item is frequently damaged and ends up fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I’ll have countless concepts as to how I desire the presentation, but we are on the move in a bus with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a grand epic, then pack it down into a small space.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “We experienced an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at a music event in the European country and my luggage – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “This became a terrible situation, because there’s not an different option of the show where I lack a sword.”

Upcoming Plans

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is enthusiastic about the what’s next. “I want to go all the way – let’s do huge arenas,” she says. “The key element that’s truly essential to me is keeping the DIY aesthetic, ensuring everything is crafted by us. That’s an element I want to remain faithful to, regardless of we grow into. Plus, I desire to make an entrance on a unicorn each show. You know how some artists use vehicles in concerts? The same idea, but with a unicorn.”