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While many artists have taken inspiration from high fantasy, few have truly lived the fantasy existence. Admittedly, they may embellish their album covers with monsters, imps, manacled maidens and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever been forced to find a lost horn from a unicorn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Has a guitarist taken the time straining their eyes in the rear of a tour bus, fixing their own armor?

Immersed in the Legend

Formed in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have encountered such situations and others as they embody their epic fantasies. From medieval-inspired, memorable anthems to breathtaking performances, attire styling, music videos and album art, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a complete sensory journey.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a themed musical group,” explains singer, guitarist, blade-handler and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle travels from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to one more in Aschaffenburg – they’re also doing five gigs in the UK now. “We played two shows and received an offer on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. The entire setup was super-DIY, but we had an amazing time and the atmosphere was electric. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have this much fun at every show?’”

The Band’s Evolution

Since then, the band – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” joined by a plague doctor (bass player), proud bloodsucker (six-string player) and secretive shaman (rhythm keeper) – continued forward. The new record, the group’s sophomore release, brings to mind of classic metal icons joining forces to struggle onward through a heroic art landscape – a heroic opus that positions them on the edge of bigger achievements.

The release was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her bandmates. “It made it a much better album,” she says of the collaborative process. “It was challenging at first – There was a sense of a certain amount of satisfaction being a woman in music going it alone. There have been so many times where after a show and an audience member will say, ‘Those guys write great riffs!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I wrote all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As their fame has increased, so has the scope of their production design. “My philosophy is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on path for a fine art degree before hesitating at the possibility of so much debt. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to demonstrate artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s creating face coverings, outfit planning, learning how to edit clips … it’s all stuff I have no experience with, but it’s enjoyable to figure it out on the fly.”

Even though creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“Everyone’s urging me to write it down because all the ideas are,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments were insufficient, the vocalist learned on her own how to craft metal mesh – a difficult task, though she confessedly delegated her brand-new scale armor design to a expert from NYC. “It feels like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Fan Response and Obstacles

What about the crowd? They took to the stage blood, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with as much gusto as the group. “We performed a show in Detroit and it seemed like a medieval event,” reminisces Riley fondly. “All attendees was in capes, animal hides, armor.”

This isn’t to say, though, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been easy. “Everything is always failing and gets repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we are on the move in a van with restricted capacity. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a mythic tale, then store it into nothing.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my weapon in it – went missing,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because there’s not an backup plan of the show where I lack a weapon.”

Goals Ahead

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is enthusiastic about the future. “I aim to reach as far as possible – let’s do stadiums,” she says. “The key element that’s really important to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, ensuring all elements is crafted by us. This is a feature I want to stay authentic to, regardless of we grow into. Oh, and I desire to appear on a mythical beast every night. Think about how famous musicians use vehicles in concerts? That, but using a unicorn.”