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Although many rockers have borrowed from high fantasy, rarely any have fully embraced the mythical lifestyle. Certainly, they might decorate their record jackets with monsters, imps, captive women and brawny barbarians, but has an artist ever been forced to find a missing mythical horn from a snowy field in the midst of winter? Did anyone spent time peering in the interior of a road transport, fixing their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Established in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and additional ones as they live out their grand tales. From heraldic, memorable tunes to eye-popping live shows, costume design, visuals and cover artwork, they’re not just a heavy metal group as a complete sensory journey.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a outfit with characters,” explains vocalist, guitar player, sword-carrier and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle drives from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to another in another town – they are playing several shows in the UK currently. “After a couple of performances and were scheduled on a October show, where I chose at the final moment to wear a costume. Everything was super-DIY, but we had a blast and the feeling in the room was electric. I realized, ‘What if we could have such enjoyment every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

Since then, the band – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a medic from history (bassist), haughty vampire (lead guitarist) and secretive shaman (rhythm keeper) – continued forward. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, brings to mind of legendary heavy bands collaborating to battle their way through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a grand composition that positions them on the edge of bigger achievements.

The release was a first for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “That contributed to a more powerful album,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – I often experienced a particular degree of pride as a woman in music doing everything solo. There have been numerous occasions where I’ve got off stage and an audience member will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As the band’s stature has grown, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. At first, she had been on course for a fine art degree before balking at the idea of heavy loans. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate artistry,” she says. “Be it creating face coverings, attire creation, learning how to edit clips … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to discover as we go.”

Even though developing the group’s detailed mythology (“Everyone’s urging me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments wasn’t enough, the vocalist learned on her own how to create armor – no mean feat, though she admittedly entrusted her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she grins.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They embraced the stage blood, soft weapons and handmade props with as much gusto as the band. “We had a concert in the Motor City and it resembled a historical festival,” recalls Riley happily. “Everyone was in robes, animal hides, metal wear.”

However, this doesn’t mean, though, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “Each item is always failing and gets repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I get numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we’re traveling in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a mythic tale, then compress it into a small space.”

We’ve encountered other logistical problems that wouldn’t have troubled fictional warriors. “We did have an ‘oh shit’ moment when we performed at a music event in the European country and my suitcase – which had my sword in it – got lost,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because we don’t have an alternative version of the show where I am without a blade.”

Future Ambitions

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is enthusiastic about the days to come. “I want to go to the top – we should play large venues,” she says. “The key element that’s truly essential to me is maintaining the handmade style, making sure everything is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to stay authentic to, whatever we scale to. Oh, and I want to appear on a mythical beast at all performances. Remember how some artists use vehicles in concerts? That, but using a unicorn.”