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While numerous rockers have borrowed from high fantasy, rarely any have genuinely embodied the mythical existence. Admittedly, they may decorate their record jackets with monsters, goblins, manacled maidens and brawny barbarians, but has any musician ever have to retrieve a missing mythical horn from a wintry landscape in the midst of winter? Has a performer spent time squinting in the interior of a traveling vehicle, fixing their own armor?

Embracing the Mythos

Established in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and more as they embody their epic fantasies. From heraldic, memorable tunes to breathtaking live shows, costume design, videos and cover artwork, they’re not just a heavy metal group as a full immersive experience.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a outfit with characters,” states vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport travels from a packed show in Cologne to another in another town – they have five gigs in the UK this week. “We played two shows and were scheduled on a Halloween gig, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. Everything was highly handmade, but we had an amazing time and the atmosphere was electric. I thought, ‘How about if we could have this much fun every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

From that point on, the band – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” joined by a pestilence physician (low-end instrumentalist), haughty vampire (guitarist) and mysterious druid (percussionist) – never turned back. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, brings to mind of famous rock groups joining forces to struggle onward through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a epic masterpiece that positions them on the edge of greater success.

The release was a first for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her collaborators. “It made it a much better album,” she says of the team effort. “I struggled at first – I often experienced a specific level of satisfaction being a woman in music going it alone. I’ve had multiple instances where after a show and an audience member will say, ‘The band compose cool melodies!’ and I’m like, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As the band’s stature has grown, so has the scope of their visual elements. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on path for a art school education before hesitating at the idea of heavy loans. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to express artistry,” she says. “From making masks, costume design, mastering post-production music videos … it’s all stuff I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to figure it out on the fly.”

Even though building the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to write it down because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the singer taught herself how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly delegated her all-new scale armor design to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They embraced the stage blood, soft weapons and handmade props with similar excitement as the band. “We had a gig in Detroit and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” remembers Riley fondly. “The whole crowd was in robes, animal hides, armor.”

However, this doesn’t mean, nevertheless, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “Everything is frequently damaged and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I come up with endless ideas as to how I desire the presentation, but we are on the move in a bus with restricted capacity. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a larger-than-life story, then compress it into a small space.”

We faced further organizational challenges that would never have plagued mythic characters. “There was an ‘oh shit’ moment when we appeared at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my weapon in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “That was a nightmare, because there is no an different option of the show where I lack a blade.”

Goals Ahead

As a genuine leader, Riley is enthusiastic about the days to come. “I want to go all the way – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The key element that’s really important to me is maintaining the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing all elements is crafted by us. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we grow into. Oh, and I desire to appear on a unicorn every night. Remember how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? Exactly that, but on a mythical creature.”