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While plenty of rockers have borrowed from epic fantasy, few have genuinely embodied the mythical lifestyle. Certainly, they might decorate their album covers with ghouls, imps, chained damsels and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever been forced to find a lost unicorn horn from a snowy field in the heart of winter? Did a guitarist spent time peering in the back of a tour bus, fixing their own metal mesh?

Embracing the Mythos

Established in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and additional ones as they embody their heroic dreams. From heraldic, earworm-heavy songs to stunning live shows, costume design, music videos and cover artwork, they’re more than a metal band as a full immersive experience.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” explains vocalist, guitar player, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport travels from a sold-out gig in a German city to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they are playing five gigs in the UK this week. “After a couple of performances and received an offer on a Halloween gig, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had a blast and the energy was unforgettable. I realized, ‘How about if we could have so much excitement always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

Since then, the ensemble – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a pestilence physician (bassist), proud bloodsucker (six-string player) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – continued forward. The new record, the group’s sophomore release, evokes images of famous rock groups joining forces to battle their way through a heroic art landscape – a heroic opus that positions them on the verge of bigger achievements.

The release was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “That contributed to a lot stronger album,” she says of the group work. “It was challenging at first – I’d always felt a specific level of accomplishment as a female in music going it alone. There’ve been numerous occasions where I finished performing and an audience member will say, ‘The other members write great riffs!’ and I’m like, ‘Wait – I composed all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As their fame has increased, so has the breadth of their production design. “My motto is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. At first, she had been on path for a art school education before hesitating at the possibility of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to demonstrate creativity,” she says. “Be it making masks, attire creation, mastering post-production clips … these are all things I have no experience with, but it’s fun to discover on the fly.”

Even though building the ensemble’s complex backstory (“Everyone’s urging me to write it down because all the ideas are,” Riley says, tapping her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the singer taught herself how to craft metal mesh – a difficult task, though she confessedly left her all-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a New York-based specialist. “It seems like actual armour,” she grins.

Fan Response and Obstacles

As for audiences? They embraced the theatrical gore, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the band. “We had a gig in Detroit and it looked like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley fondly. “All attendees was in robes, sheepskin, chainmail.”

That’s not to imply, nevertheless, that life on the road as mythical wanderers has been easy. “All our gear is constantly breaking and ends up fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Additionally I come up with endless ideas 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 unique problem to create the impression like a mythic tale, then store it into a small space.”

We faced further organizational challenges that wouldn’t have troubled legendary fantasy heroes. “We experienced an ‘oh shit’ moment when we appeared at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my blade in it – got lost,” says Riley. “It was a nightmare, because there’s not an alternative version of the concert where I lack a blade.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “I aim to reach as far as possible – I dream of huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s deeply meaningful to me is keeping the handmade style, guaranteeing everything is handmade. This is a feature I want to stay authentic to, regardless of we grow into. Oh, and I wish to appear on a magical horse each show. You know how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? That, but using a unicorn.”