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Although many rockers have borrowed from epic fantasy, rarely any have truly lived the mythical existence. Certainly, they may decorate their album covers with creatures, beasts, captive women and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever been forced to retrieve a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Did a performer spent time peering in the interior of a road transport, fixing their own chainmail?

Embracing the Mythos

Formed in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have dealt with these exact challenges and more as they act out their heroic dreams. From knightly, earworm-heavy anthems to stunning performances, attire styling, videos and cover artwork, they’re not just a rock act as a full immersive experience.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a themed musical group,” explains singer, guitarist, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle speeds from a full-capacity concert in a German city to another in Aschaffenburg – they’re also doing five gigs in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a October show, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. It was all highly handmade, but we had a blast and the atmosphere was incredible. It occurred to me, ‘How about if we could have such enjoyment every time?’”

The Band’s Evolution

After that, the band – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” alongside a medic from history (bassist), aristocratic undead (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (percussionist) – haven’t looked back. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, brings to mind of classic metal icons collaborating to battle their way through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that places them on the edge of greater success.

The release was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her bandmates. “That contributed to a more powerful album,” she says of the team effort. “It was challenging at first – I’d always felt a specific level of pride as a woman in music doing everything solo. There have been so many times where I’ve got off stage and an audience member will say, ‘Those guys create awesome guitar parts!’ and I think, ‘Wait – I composed all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has grown, so has the scope of their production design. “The saying I live by is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on course for a art school education before pulling back at the idea of financial burden. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to express artistic expression,” she says. “From making masks, attire creation, figuring out video editing clips … everything is I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to figure it out in the moment.”

As if building the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to write it down because all the ideas are,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the vocalist taught herself how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly entrusted her brand-new scale armor design to a expert from NYC. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

Regarding the fans? They embraced the stage blood, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with similar excitement as the band. “We played a concert in the Motor City and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley fondly. “Everyone was in capes, wool garments, metal wear.”

However, this doesn’t mean, however, that traveling lifestyle as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been plain sailing. “Everything is constantly breaking and ends up duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Plus I get endless ideas as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a mythic tale, then compress it into nothing.”

We faced other logistical problems that would never have plagued legendary fantasy heroes. “We did have an ‘oh shit’ moment when we appeared at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because we don’t have an different option of the show where I lack a sword.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is gung-ho about the days to come. “My goal is as far as possible – I dream of stadiums,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is maintaining the self-crafted look, guaranteeing each detail is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to keep true to, regardless of we achieve. Oh, and I want to ride out on a mythical beast every night. Think about how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? The same idea, but using a unicorn.”