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While many musicians have taken inspiration from high fantasy, rarely any have truly lived the fantasy lifestyle. Certainly, they may decorate their album covers with monsters, imps, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but has an artist ever have to find a lost mythical horn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Has a performer devoted hours straining their eyes in the rear of a tour bus, fixing their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Created in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have dealt with these exact challenges and additional ones as they act out their grand tales. Starting with medieval-inspired, catchy anthems to stunning performances, costume design, videos and album art, they’re not just a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a costumed concept band,” says vocalist, guitar player, sword-carrier and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van travels from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to another in Aschaffenburg – they are playing multiple performances in the UK this week. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a October show, where I made a last-minute decision to put on an outfit. It was all super-DIY, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was unforgettable. I realized, ‘How about if we could have so much excitement every time?’”

Growth of the Group

Since then, the band – which includes Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a medic from history (bassist), aristocratic undead (lead guitarist) and secretive shaman (drummer) – haven’t looked back. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands collaborating to struggle onward through a heroic art landscape – a grand composition that sets them on the verge of bigger achievements.

This album was a first for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “That contributed to a lot stronger project,” she says of the group work. “It was challenging at first – There was a sense of a certain amount of satisfaction being a woman in music going it alone. There have been so many times where after a show and a person will say, ‘Those guys write great riffs!’ and I respond, ‘Hey – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has increased, so has the breadth of their production design. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on track for a art school education before balking at the idea of so much debt. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate creativity,” she says. “From making masks, outfit planning, figuring out video editing music videos … these are all things I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to learn in the moment.”

Even though creating the band’s intricate lore (“The team is pushing me to record it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and making clothing didn’t suffice, the singer learned on her own how to make chainmail – a difficult task, though she admittedly left her completely original scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They took to the stage blood, foam swords and handmade props with similar excitement as the group. “We played a concert in Detroit and it looked like a medieval event,” reminisces Riley fondly. “Everyone was in cloaks, sheepskin, armor.”

That’s not to imply, though, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “Everything is always failing and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Plus I get countless concepts as to how I desire the presentation, but we’re traveling in a bus with restricted capacity. It’s a unique problem to make it feel like a grand epic, then store it into a small space.”

We’ve encountered other logistical problems that didn’t affect mythic characters. “We experienced an ‘oh shit’ moment when we appeared at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my luggage – which had my weapon in it – went missing,” says Riley. “This became a worst-case scenario, because there is no an different option of the performance where I don’t have a weapon.”

Future Ambitions

As a genuine leader, Riley is enthusiastic about the what’s next. “I aim to reach to the top – let’s do huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s truly essential to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing all elements is handmade. It’s a component I want to stay authentic to, regardless of we grow into. Additionally, I desire to make an entrance on a mythical beast each show. Remember how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but on a mythical creature.”