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While numerous musicians have drawn from fantasy lore, only a handful have fully embraced the enchanted lifestyle. Sure, they might decorate their album covers with creatures, beasts, captive women and brawny barbarians, but has an artist ever been forced to recover a lost unicorn horn from a snowy field in the depths of winter? Did a guitarist spent time squinting in the rear of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own chainmail?

Embracing the Mythos

Formed in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and others as they live out their heroic dreams. From heraldic, earworm-heavy anthems to stunning performances, outfit creation, visuals and album art, they’re not so much a rock act as a full immersive experience.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a themed musical group,” states vocalist, guitar player, sword-wielder and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van drives from a packed show in Cologne to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they’re also doing five gigs in the UK now. “We played two shows and received an offer on a Halloween gig, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. It was all completely self-made, but we had an amazing time and the feeling in the room was incredible. I realized, ‘How about if we could have this much fun always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

From that point on, the band – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” joined by a plague doctor (bassist), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and secretive shaman (rhythm keeper) – never turned back. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, brings to mind of famous rock groups uniting to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a epic masterpiece that places them on the verge of far grander things.

This album was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “This helped a more powerful project,” she says of the collaborative process. “I struggled at first – I often experienced a particular degree of satisfaction being a woman in music working independently. There have been numerous occasions where after a show and a person will say, ‘The band write great riffs!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has expanded, so has the breadth of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on track for a art school education before pulling back at the prospect of heavy loans. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s making masks, outfit planning, mastering post-production song visuals … everything is I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to discover as we go.”

As if building the band’s intricate lore (“People are encouraging me to write it down because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the singer learned on her own how to craft metal mesh – a difficult task, though she admittedly left her completely original scalemail look to a New York-based specialist. “It seems like actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

What about the crowd? They embraced the stage blood, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with as much gusto as the band. “We played a gig in the Motor City and it resembled a medieval event,” reminisces Riley with affection. “The whole crowd was in cloaks, wool garments, armor.”

That’s not to imply, nevertheless, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been plain sailing. “Everything is always failing and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Moreover I’ll have endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we tour in a bus with limited room. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a grand epic, then store it into nothing.”

We faced further organizational challenges that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “We experienced an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we performed at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my baggage – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “This became a terrible situation, because there’s not an alternative version of the show where I am without a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is enthusiastic about the days to come. “I aim to reach all the way – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The main aspect that’s truly essential to me is preserving the self-crafted look, ensuring all elements is handmade. This is a feature I want to stay authentic to, whatever we scale to. Oh, and I wish to ride out on a unicorn at all performances. Think about how some artists use vehicles in concerts? Exactly that, but using a unicorn.”