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Although many musicians have drawn from epic fantasy, only a handful have fully embraced the fantasy way of life. Admittedly, they may embellish their record jackets with creatures, beasts, chained damsels and brawny barbarians, but has an artist ever been forced to recover a missing unicorn horn from a frost-covered ground in the heart of winter? Has a guitarist devoted hours squinting in the rear of a tour bus, fixing their own metal mesh?

Living the Fantasy

Created in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and additional ones as they act out their epic fantasies. Starting with medieval-inspired, memorable anthems to eye-popping performances, attire styling, visuals and cover artwork, they’re more than a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a outfit with characters,” says vocalist, guitar player, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle speeds from a packed show in a German city to one more in another town – they have multiple performances in the UK now. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a spooky event, where I chose at the final moment to dress up. Everything was completely self-made, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was incredible. I realized, ‘Imagine if we could have such enjoyment always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

After that, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” joined by a medic from history (bass player), proud bloodsucker (six-string player) and mysterious druid (percussionist) – continued forward. The new record, the band’s second album, brings to mind of famous rock groups collaborating to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that sets them on the edge of far grander things.

This album was a first for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her collaborators. “It made it a lot stronger record,” she says of the team effort. “I struggled at first – I often experienced a specific level of accomplishment as a woman in music working independently. There have been multiple instances where I finished performing and some guy will say, ‘The other members compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I composed all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As their fame has grown, so has the scope of their production design. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on path for a fine art degree before pulling back at the prospect of heavy loans. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to demonstrate artistic expression,” she says. “Be it making masks, costume design, figuring out video editing music videos … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s exciting to discover in the moment.”

As if creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“People are encouraging me to document it because everything is stored,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the singer learned on her own how to craft metal mesh – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly left her all-new scale armor design to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They loved the theatrical gore, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with as much gusto as the musicians. “We played a concert in Detroit and it resembled a historical festival,” recalls Riley with affection. “All attendees was in cloaks, sheepskin, metal wear.”

That’s not to imply, though, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “Each item is always failing and ends up fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Additionally I get countless concepts as to how I want things to look, but we tour in a vehicle with restricted capacity. It’s a unique problem to give the sense like a grand epic, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

There have been additional practical issues that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “We experienced an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my weapon in it – went missing,” says Riley. “It was a worst-case scenario, because there is no an different option of the performance where I lack a blade.”

Upcoming Plans

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is gung-ho about the future. “My goal is to the top – we should play large venues,” she says. “The only thing that’s truly essential to me is keeping the self-crafted look, making sure everything is handmade. This is a feature I want to keep true to, no matter what we grow into. Oh, and I wish to ride out on a magical horse every night. Remember how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? That, but on a mythical creature.”