🔗 Share this article

Although numerous rockers have borrowed from epic fantasy, few have genuinely embodied the enchanted lifestyle. Certainly, they could embellish their album sleeves with monsters, imps, captive women and brawny barbarians, but has any musician ever been forced to find a missing unicorn horn from a snowy field in the midst of winter? Did a performer devoted hours straining their eyes in the back of a tour bus, fixing their own armor?

Embracing the Mythos

Established in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and additional ones as they embody their heroic dreams. From medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy anthems to eye-popping performances, costume design, videos and record designs, they’re not so much a metal band as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a outfit with characters,” states vocalist, guitar player, sword-wielder and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle speeds from a full-capacity concert in a German city to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they’re also doing multiple performances in the UK currently. “After a couple of performances and were scheduled on a spooky event, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had a blast and the atmosphere was unforgettable. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have such enjoyment always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

From that point on, the ensemble – which features Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” joined by a medic from history (bass player), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, brings to mind of classic metal icons joining forces to struggle onward through a heroic art landscape – a grand composition that places them on the verge of greater success.

This album was a first for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her fellow members. “That contributed to a much better album,” she says of the team effort. “It was challenging at first – There was a sense of a particular degree of accomplishment as a woman in music going it alone. I’ve had so many times where I finished performing and an audience member will say, ‘The other members compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has increased, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. Initially, she was on course for a university studies in art before pulling back at the possibility of so much debt. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to express artistry,” she says. “From creating face coverings, outfit planning, learning how to edit song visuals … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s exciting to learn on the fly.”

As if creating the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and stitching garments were insufficient, the singer taught herself how to craft metal mesh – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly delegated her brand-new scalemail look to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They embraced the theatrical gore, toy blades and papier-mache rat skulls with as much gusto as the group. “We played a gig in the Motor City and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” recalls Riley fondly. “All attendees was in cloaks, sheepskin, chainmail.”

This isn’t to say, however, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been plain sailing. “All our gear is constantly breaking and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Moreover I’ll have numerous thoughts as to how I desire the presentation, but we tour in a van with only so much space. It’s a unique problem to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then store it into nothing.”

We’ve encountered further organizational challenges that didn’t affect legendary fantasy heroes. “We experienced an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we appeared at a music event in Portugal and my luggage – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because there is no an different option of the show where I lack a blade.”

Upcoming Plans

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “I want to go all the way – I dream of stadiums,” she says. “The only thing that’s truly essential to me is keeping the self-crafted look, making sure all elements is handmade. That’s an element I want to remain faithful to, regardless of we achieve. Oh, and I desire to make an entrance on a magical horse every night. Think about how some artists use vehicles in concerts? That, but using a unicorn.”