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Although numerous musicians have borrowed from high fantasy, rarely any have genuinely embodied the fantasy lifestyle. Admittedly, they could embellish their record jackets with monsters, imps, captive women and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever have to recover a lost mythical horn from a snowy field in the depths of winter? Did a performer spent time peering in the back of a road transport, fixing their own armor?

Living the Fantasy

Created in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face such situations and additional ones as they act out their epic fantasies. From heraldic, catchy songs to stunning concerts, outfit creation, music videos and album art, they’re not so much a metal band as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” states singer, guitarist, sword-wielder and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van travels from a sold-out gig in Cologne to one more in Aschaffenburg – they have several shows in the UK now. “After a couple of performances and were scheduled on a spooky event, where I decided spontaneously to wear a costume. Everything was highly handmade, but we had an amazing time and the atmosphere was unforgettable. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have this much fun every time?’”

Growth of the Group

Since then, the group – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” joined by a medic from history (bass player), proud bloodsucker (guitarist) and mysterious druid (percussionist) – haven’t looked back. Their latest album, the follow-up record, conjures visions of famous rock groups joining forces to battle their way through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that positions them on the brink of greater success.

The release 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 collaborative process. “I had difficulty at first – I’d always felt a certain amount of accomplishment as a female in music doing everything solo. There’ve been multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and an audience member will say, ‘The other members create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I composed 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 laughs. At first, she had been on path for a art school education before hesitating at the idea of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s making masks, attire creation, learning how to edit music videos … everything is I have no experience with, but it’s fun to figure it out on the fly.”

Even though building the band’s intricate lore (“The team is pushing me to document it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and stitching garments were insufficient, the singer self-educated how to craft metal mesh – a difficult task, though she admittedly entrusted her completely original reptilian-inspired outfit to a New York-based specialist. “It seems like actual armour,” she beams.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They took to the stage blood, soft weapons and handmade props with similar excitement as the band. “We played a gig in the Motor City and it resembled a medieval event,” remembers Riley with affection. “All attendees was in capes, animal hides, armor.”

This isn’t to say, though, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been plain sailing. “Everything is constantly breaking and ends up duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have endless ideas as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a van with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a grand epic, then compress it into a small space.”

We’ve encountered further organizational challenges that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “We did have an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my weapon in it – got lost,” says Riley. “That was a worst-case scenario, because we don’t have an backup plan of the performance where I lack a blade.”

Goals Ahead

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is enthusiastic about the future. “I want to go as far as possible – we should play stadiums,” she says. “The main aspect that’s truly essential to me is maintaining the self-crafted look, making sure all elements is custom-made. This is a feature I want to stay authentic to, whatever we grow into. Additionally, I wish to make an entrance on a magical horse at all performances. You know how legends do the motorcycle thing? That, but using a unicorn.”