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Although plenty of rockers have drawn from fantasy lore, rarely any have fully embraced the mythical lifestyle. Sure, they could adorn their album covers with monsters, imps, captive women and brawny barbarians, but has an artist ever have to recover a lost horn from a unicorn from a frost-covered ground in the midst of winter? Has anyone spent time squinting in the rear of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Established in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face such situations and additional ones as they live out their heroic dreams. Starting with medieval-inspired, memorable songs to breathtaking concerts, attire styling, visuals and album art, they’re more than a rock act as a complete sensory journey.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a costumed concept band,” states singer, guitar player, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a packed show in Cologne to another in Aschaffenburg – they are playing multiple performances 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 super-DIY, but we had so much fun and the atmosphere was incredible. It occurred to me, ‘How about if we could have this much fun always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

From that point on, the ensemble – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” joined by a medic from history (bass player), aristocratic undead (six-string player) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands joining forces to fight their path through a heroic art landscape – a heroic opus that places them on the brink of far grander things.

This album was a first for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her bandmates. “This helped a much better album,” she says of the group work. “I struggled at first – There was a sense of a certain amount of pride being a woman in music doing everything solo. There’ve been numerous occasions where after a show and some guy will say, ‘Those guys write great riffs!’ and I think, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

With their growing popularity has expanded, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “The saying I live by is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on path for a fine art degree before balking at the possibility of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to demonstrate artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s creating face coverings, attire creation, figuring out video editing clips … these are all things I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to learn in the moment.”

Even though developing the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to write it down because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and making clothing wasn’t enough, the vocalist self-educated how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly delegated her brand-new scalemail look to a expert from NYC. “It feels like actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They took to the theatrical gore, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with equal enthusiasm as the musicians. “We played a concert in the Motor City and it resembled a medieval event,” recalls Riley happily. “Everyone was in robes, wool garments, armor.”

This isn’t to say, though, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “Each item is always failing and ends up repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Moreover I come up with numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we tour in a bus with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to create the impression like a mythic tale, then pack it down into nothing.”

There have been additional practical issues that wouldn’t have troubled legendary fantasy heroes. “There was an ‘oh shit’ moment when we played a Portuguese festival in Portugal and my baggage – which had my sword in it – got lost,” says Riley. “That was a worst-case scenario, because we don’t have an backup plan of the performance where I lack a blade.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is eager about the future. “My goal is all the way – let’s do stadiums,” she says. “The main aspect that’s truly essential to me is keeping the handmade style, ensuring each detail is custom-made. It’s a component I want to remain faithful to, regardless of we scale to. Oh, and I wish to make an entrance on a unicorn every night. You know how legends ride bikes on stage? Exactly that, but on a mythical creature.”