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Although plenty of rockers have taken inspiration from fantasy lore, rarely any have fully embraced the fantasy existence. Sure, they could decorate their album sleeves with ghouls, goblins, manacled maidens and muscular warriors, but did a member ever needed to find a missing unicorn horn from a frost-covered ground in the heart of winter? Did a guitarist spent time straining their eyes in the rear of a tour bus, fixing their own armor?

Living the Fantasy

Established in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have encountered such situations and additional ones as they live out their heroic dreams. Starting with knightly, catchy songs to stunning performances, attire styling, videos and cover artwork, they’re more than a metal band as a full immersive experience.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a costumed concept band,” says singer, guitarist, blade-handler and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport drives from a sold-out gig in a German city to one more in Aschaffenburg – they are playing several shows in the UK currently. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a October show, where I decided spontaneously to put on an outfit. It was all highly handmade, but we had so much fun and the energy was electric. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the group – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a pestilence physician (bassist), proud bloodsucker (six-string player) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – haven’t looked back. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, brings to mind of famous rock groups joining forces to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that positions them on the verge of bigger achievements.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “That contributed to a lot stronger album,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – I often experienced a certain amount of satisfaction as a woman in music doing everything solo. There’ve been numerous occasions where I finished performing and some guy will say, ‘The other members write great riffs!’ and I think, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As the band’s stature has increased, so has the breadth of their stage presentation. “The saying I live by is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on course for a university studies in art before hesitating at the prospect of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply artistic expression,” she says. “Be it creating face coverings, outfit planning, figuring out video editing clips … it’s all stuff I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to figure it out on the fly.”

Even though building the ensemble’s complex backstory (“Everyone’s urging me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments wasn’t enough, the singer self-educated how to make chainmail – no mean feat, though she admittedly entrusted her all-new scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They loved the theatrical gore, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We played a concert in the Motor City and it resembled a Renaissance fair,” remembers Riley with affection. “All attendees was in cloaks, wool garments, armor.”

That’s not to imply, however, that life on the road as fantasy adventurers has been smooth. “Each item is constantly breaking and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Moreover I come up with numerous thoughts as to how I want things to look, but we’re traveling in a vehicle with limited room. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a mythic tale, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

We faced other logistical problems that wouldn’t have troubled legendary fantasy heroes. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we appeared at a music event in Portugal and my luggage – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because there’s not an backup plan of the show where I lack a sword.”

Future Ambitions

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is gung-ho about the what’s next. “I want to go to the top – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is keeping the handmade style, guaranteeing each detail is custom-made. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, regardless of we scale to. Additionally, I desire to appear on a magical horse each show. Remember how some artists use vehicles in concerts? The same idea, but on a mythical creature.”