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Although plenty of musicians have drawn from fantasy lore, only a handful have truly lived the enchanted way of life. Sure, they may adorn their album sleeves with creatures, beasts, captive women and brawny barbarians, but has an artist ever been forced to find a lost horn from a unicorn from a frost-covered ground in the heart of winter? Has a guitarist spent time peering in the rear of a tour bus, mending their own metal mesh?

Living the Fantasy

Created in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have had to face such situations and additional ones as they act out their heroic dreams. Starting with knightly, earworm-heavy songs to breathtaking concerts, costume design, music videos and cover artwork, they’re more than a heavy metal group as a full immersive experience.

“It wasn’t planned to be a themed musical group,” states vocalist, guitarist, blade-handler and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle drives from a sold-out gig in a German city to one more in another town – they have five gigs in the UK this week. “We played two shows and were scheduled on a Halloween gig, where I chose at the final moment to wear a costume. It was all super-DIY, but we had a blast and the energy was incredible. It occurred to me, ‘What if we could have this much fun every time?’”

The Band’s Evolution

Since then, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” alongside a medic from history (bassist), haughty vampire (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (rhythm keeper) – haven’t looked back. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, evokes images of legendary heavy bands uniting to struggle onward through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that positions them on the verge of greater success.

The Bestiary 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 team effort. “I had difficulty at first – There was a sense of a certain amount of accomplishment being a woman in music working independently. There have been numerous occasions where after a show and an audience member will say, ‘Those guys create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As their fame has grown, so has the breadth of their production design. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. At first, she had been on path for a art school education before pulling back at the idea of financial burden. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to demonstrate creativity,” she says. “From creating face coverings, costume design, mastering post-production music videos … these are all things I have no experience with, but it’s fun to discover as we go.”

As if creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“Everyone’s urging me to write it down because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and making clothing wasn’t enough, the vocalist taught herself how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly left her brand-new scalemail look to a expert from NYC. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They loved the stage blood, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with equal enthusiasm as the band. “We performed a gig in Detroit and it looked like a historical festival,” remembers Riley with affection. “Everyone was in capes, sheepskin, chainmail.”

This isn’t to say, however, that traveling lifestyle as fantasy adventurers has been smooth. “Each item is always failing and ends up repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have countless concepts as to how I desire the presentation, but we tour in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s a unique problem to give the sense like a grand epic, then pack it down into a small space.”

There have been further organizational challenges that wouldn’t have troubled legendary fantasy heroes. “We experienced an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my baggage – which had my blade in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “This became a terrible situation, because there’s not an alternative version of the show where I am without a sword.”

Goals Ahead

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is eager about the days to come. “I aim to reach to the top – I dream of stadiums,” she says. “The main aspect that’s deeply meaningful to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, making sure everything is custom-made. This is a feature I want to stay authentic to, regardless of we grow into. Plus, I wish to make an entrance on a unicorn each show. Think about how legends do the motorcycle thing? The same idea, but on a mythical creature.”