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Although many artists have borrowed from high fantasy, only a handful have truly lived the fantasy lifestyle. Certainly, they could decorate their album covers with creatures, goblins, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but has any musician ever been forced to find a missing unicorn horn from a frost-covered ground in the heart of winter? Has anyone spent time squinting in the interior of a tour bus, repairing their own armor?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and others as they act out their epic fantasies. Starting with knightly, earworm-heavy tunes to breathtaking performances, outfit creation, visuals and record designs, they’re not just a rock act as a full immersive experience.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a costumed concept band,” explains vocalist, guitar player, blade-handler and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle speeds from a full-capacity concert in a German city to one more in another town – they have several shows in the UK now. “Initially, we performed twice and got booked on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. It was all highly handmade, but we had an amazing time and the atmosphere was electric. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have this much fun always?’”

Development of Castle Rat

From that point on, the ensemble – which includes Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” alongside a plague doctor (low-end instrumentalist), aristocratic undead (lead guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (rhythm keeper) – haven’t looked back. The new record, the band’s second album, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands uniting to fight their path through a heroic art landscape – a grand composition that sets them on the edge of far grander things.

The release was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “This helped a more powerful record,” she says of the team effort. “I struggled at first – I often experienced a specific level of pride as a woman in music doing everything solo. There have been numerous occasions where I finished performing and some guy will say, ‘The other members write great riffs!’ and I think, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has grown, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on course for a university studies in art before balking at the possibility of heavy loans. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to apply artistic expression,” she says. “From crafting disguises, attire creation, figuring out video editing clips … these are all things I have no experience with, but it’s exciting to figure it out as we go.”

As if creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“People are encouraging me to document it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and making clothing didn’t suffice, the vocalist learned on her own how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly entrusted her brand-new scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It seems like actual armour,” she grins.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They took to the stage blood, toy blades and crafted rodent bones with as much gusto as the band. “We played a show in Detroit and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley with affection. “Everyone was in cloaks, animal hides, chainmail.”

That’s not to imply, however, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been plain sailing. “Each item is constantly breaking and ends up repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I get numerous thoughts as to how I want things to look, but we are on the move in a bus with limited room. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a mythic tale, then compress it into a small space.”

There have been additional practical issues that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “We did have an ‘oh shit’ moment when we appeared at a music event in the European country and my luggage – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “This became a worst-case scenario, because there is no an alternative version of the concert where I lack a weapon.”

Goals Ahead

As a genuine leader, Riley is enthusiastic about the days to come. “I aim to reach to the top – let’s do stadiums,” she says. “The key element that’s really important to me is keeping the self-crafted look, making sure everything is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to keep true to, whatever we achieve. Plus, I desire to appear on a mythical beast at all performances. You know how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”