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While many rockers have borrowed from fantasy lore, few have truly lived the enchanted existence. Admittedly, they may embellish their record jackets with creatures, beasts, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but did a member ever been forced to recover a misplaced unicorn horn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Did a guitarist taken the time straining their eyes in the rear of a road transport, repairing their own armor?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and additional ones as they live out their grand tales. From medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy songs to breathtaking concerts, outfit creation, videos and cover artwork, they’re more than a metal band as a full immersive experience.

“It wasn’t planned to be a themed musical group,” explains singer, guitar player, sword-wielder and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to one more in Aschaffenburg – they’re also doing multiple performances in the UK this week. “After a couple of performances and were scheduled on a October show, where I chose at the final moment to put on an outfit. It was all highly handmade, but we had an amazing time and the feeling in the room was incredible. I realized, ‘What if we could have this much fun every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

After that, the group – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” joined by a plague doctor (low-end instrumentalist), aristocratic undead (lead guitarist) and secretive shaman (drummer) – continued forward. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands uniting to struggle onward through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that sets them on the verge of greater success.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her fellow members. “It made it a much better project,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – There was a sense of a particular degree of satisfaction being a woman in music working independently. There have been so many times where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘Those guys write great riffs!’ and I think, ‘Listen – I wrote all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the scope of their visual elements. “The saying I live by is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. She was originally on track for a fine art degree before hesitating at the prospect of heavy loans. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to express artistic expression,” she says. “Be it creating face coverings, attire creation, figuring out video editing song visuals … these are all things I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to discover as we go.”

As if developing the ensemble’s complex backstory (“Everyone’s urging me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, tapping her head) and making clothing didn’t suffice, the singer learned on her own how to create armor – a difficult task, though she admittedly entrusted her all-new scalemail look to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They loved the fake blood, toy blades and crafted rodent bones with as much gusto as the musicians. “We performed a concert in the Motor City and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley fondly. “All attendees was in capes, sheepskin, chainmail.”

That’s not to imply, though, that traveling lifestyle as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “All our gear is frequently damaged and gets repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we tour in a van with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then store it into minimal luggage.”

We’ve encountered further organizational challenges that didn’t affect mythic characters. “There was an ‘oh shit’ moment when we played a music event in the European country and my luggage – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because there’s not an different option of the performance where I lack a sword.”

Future Ambitions

As a genuine leader, Riley is eager about the days to come. “My goal is to the top – we should play large venues,” she says. “The only thing that’s truly essential to me is preserving the self-crafted look, making sure all elements is crafted by us. That’s an element I want to remain faithful to, whatever we grow into. Oh, and I want to appear on a magical horse each show. Think about how some artists use vehicles in concerts? The same idea, but on a mythical creature.”