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Although numerous musicians have drawn from high fantasy, rarely any have truly lived the mythical way of life. Sure, they may decorate their album covers with ghouls, goblins, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but has an artist ever needed to recover a missing mythical horn from a snowy field in the depths of winter? Did anyone spent time straining their eyes in the interior of a road transport, mending their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Established in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face such situations and additional ones as they embody their heroic dreams. From knightly, catchy tunes to eye-popping live shows, outfit creation, music videos and record designs, they’re more than a heavy metal group as a complete sensory journey.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a costumed concept band,” states singer, guitar player, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport drives from a full-capacity concert in a German city to one more in Aschaffenburg – they are playing several shows in the UK currently. “Initially, we performed twice and were scheduled on a October show, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. Everything was highly handmade, but we had a blast and the energy was electric. I thought, ‘What if we could have this much fun every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

Since then, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” alongside a pestilence physician (bass player), aristocratic undead (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – haven’t looked back. The Bestiary, the group’s sophomore release, evokes images of legendary heavy bands joining forces to struggle onward through a heroic art landscape – a grand composition that positions them on the brink of bigger achievements.

The release was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her fellow members. “It made it a more powerful record,” she says of the team effort. “I struggled at first – There was a sense of a particular degree of pride being a woman in music working independently. I’ve had multiple instances where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has grown, so has the scale of their visual elements. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. Initially, she was on course for a fine art degree before balking at the idea of so much debt. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to demonstrate artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s creating face coverings, costume design, mastering post-production music videos … these are all things I don’t know how to do, but it’s exciting to figure it out in the moment.”

As if creating the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to document it because everything is stored,” Riley says, tapping her head) and sewing costumes wasn’t enough, the singer taught herself how to craft metal mesh – a difficult task, though she confessedly entrusted her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a expert from NYC. “It feels like actual armour,” she grins.

Fan Response and Obstacles

What about the crowd? They took to the stage blood, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with similar excitement as the band. “We performed a show in the Motor City and it looked like a medieval event,” remembers Riley with affection. “The whole crowd was in capes, sheepskin, chainmail.”

However, this doesn’t mean, though, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been plain sailing. “Each item is constantly breaking and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have countless concepts as to how I want things to look, but we’re traveling in a van with restricted capacity. It’s a unique problem to create the impression like a mythic tale, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

There have been additional practical issues that didn’t affect fictional warriors. “There was an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we played a music event in Portugal and my suitcase – which had my blade in it – went missing,” says Riley. “This became a worst-case scenario, because we don’t have an different option of the concert where I don’t have a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is enthusiastic about the days to come. “I aim to reach all the way – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The key element that’s really important to me is keeping the handmade style, guaranteeing each detail is custom-made. It’s a component I want to remain faithful to, whatever we achieve. Additionally, I want to make an entrance on a unicorn each show. Think about how some artists use vehicles in concerts? The same idea, but with a unicorn.”