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While numerous musicians have drawn from high fantasy, only a handful have fully embraced the fantasy existence. Certainly, they could adorn their record jackets with ghouls, goblins, chained damsels and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever needed to find a missing mythical horn from a frost-covered ground in the midst of winter? Did a guitarist taken the time straining their eyes in the rear of a traveling vehicle, mending their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Created in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and more as they embody their grand tales. From knightly, catchy anthems to breathtaking live shows, attire styling, visuals and album art, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a outfit with characters,” says vocalist, guitar player, sword-wielder and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport drives from a sold-out gig in Cologne to one more in another town – they have several shows in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and got booked on a spooky event, where I chose at the final moment to dress up. Everything was completely self-made, but we had so much fun and the atmosphere was incredible. It occurred to me, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement always?’”

Growth of the Group

Since then, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” joined by a medic from history (low-end instrumentalist), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – continued forward. The new record, the group’s sophomore release, brings to mind of famous rock groups uniting to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that places them on the edge of greater success.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “That contributed to a lot stronger project,” she says of the group work. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a certain amount of pride as a female in music doing everything solo. I’ve had so many times where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘The band write great riffs!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

With their growing popularity has increased, so has the scope of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. Initially, she was on course for a university studies in art before balking at the possibility of financial burden. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate artistry,” she says. “From creating face coverings, outfit planning, figuring out video editing clips … everything is I have no experience with, but it’s enjoyable to figure it out in the moment.”

As if developing the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to document it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, tapping her head) and making clothing didn’t suffice, the singer taught herself how to create armor – no mean feat, though she admittedly delegated her completely original reptilian-inspired outfit to a New York-based specialist. “It feels like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They embraced the theatrical gore, soft weapons and handmade props with as much gusto as the band. “We played a gig in Detroit and it looked like a medieval event,” recalls Riley happily. “Everyone was in capes, sheepskin, armor.”

This isn’t to say, though, that life on the road as mythical wanderers has been easy. “Everything is frequently damaged and ends up repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Moreover I come up with countless concepts as to how I want things to look, but we are on the move in a van with only so much space. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then store it into a small space.”

We’ve encountered other logistical problems that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played a music event in Portugal and my baggage – which had my weapon in it – got lost,” says Riley. “It was a terrible situation, because there is no an different option of the show where I don’t have a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is eager about the days to come. “I aim to reach all the way – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The only thing that’s deeply meaningful to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing each detail is crafted by us. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, whatever we scale to. Plus, I want to ride out on a magical horse at all performances. Think about how some artists do the motorcycle thing? That, but with a unicorn.”