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While plenty of artists have drawn from epic fantasy, few have fully embraced the fantasy way of life. Admittedly, they could embellish their record jackets with ghouls, beasts, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but has an artist ever needed to find a missing unicorn horn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Has a performer devoted hours squinting in the rear of a tour bus, fixing their own metal mesh?

Embracing the Mythos

Formed in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and others as they embody their grand tales. Starting with knightly, earworm-heavy songs to stunning performances, outfit creation, music videos and cover artwork, they’re not just a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” says vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport travels from a packed show in a German city to another in Aschaffenburg – they are playing several shows in the UK now. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. Everything was completely self-made, but we had an amazing time and the energy was electric. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have such enjoyment at every show?’”

Development of Castle Rat

After that, the group – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a medic from history (low-end instrumentalist), aristocratic undead (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (percussionist) – never turned back. The new record, the follow-up record, conjures visions of classic metal icons joining forces to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that positions them on the edge of greater success.

The release was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “It made it a much better project,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – I often experienced a certain amount of pride as a female in music going it alone. There’ve been numerous occasions where after a show and an audience member will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As the band’s stature has increased, so has the breadth of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on track for a university studies in art before hesitating at the idea of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express creativity,” she says. “Be it creating face coverings, costume design, mastering post-production music videos … these are all things I have no experience with, but it’s exciting to learn as we go.”

As if building the group’s detailed mythology (“The team is pushing me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating 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 reptilian-inspired outfit to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They loved the stage blood, soft weapons and handmade props with as much gusto as the band. “We had a gig in Detroit and it resembled a Renaissance fair,” remembers Riley with affection. “All attendees was in robes, animal hides, armor.”

That’s not to imply, however, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been smooth. “All our gear is constantly breaking and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I come up with countless concepts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we tour in a vehicle with limited room. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a grand epic, then store it into a small space.”

We faced other logistical problems that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at a music event in the European country and my suitcase – which had my sword in it – got lost,” says Riley. “This became a worst-case scenario, because there’s not an different option of the show where I don’t have a blade.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is enthusiastic about the days to come. “My goal is as far as possible – I dream of stadiums,” she says. “The key element that’s truly essential to me is keeping the self-crafted look, ensuring everything is custom-made. That’s an element I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we scale to. Plus, I desire to appear on a unicorn every night. You know how legends use vehicles in concerts? The same idea, but using a unicorn.”