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Although many rockers have taken inspiration from epic fantasy, only a handful have fully embraced the enchanted lifestyle. Admittedly, they could embellish their record jackets with creatures, goblins, captive women and strong fighters, but has any musician ever needed to recover a misplaced mythical horn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Has a performer spent time peering in the interior of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own metal mesh?

Embracing the Mythos

Created in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face these exact challenges and others as they embody their epic fantasies. Starting with knightly, catchy anthems to eye-popping performances, costume design, videos and album art, they’re more than a rock act as a complete sensory journey.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a costumed concept band,” explains singer, guitarist, sword-carrier and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van travels from a packed show in Cologne to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they’re also doing several shows in the UK now. “We played two shows and got booked on a October show, where I decided spontaneously to wear a costume. Everything was super-DIY, but we had an amazing time and the energy was unforgettable. I realized, ‘How about if we could have this much fun every time?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the band – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” alongside a pestilence physician (low-end instrumentalist), aristocratic undead (six-string player) and secretive shaman (percussionist) – continued forward. Their latest album, the band’s second album, brings to mind of classic metal icons uniting to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a grand composition that sets them on the edge of far grander things.

This album was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her fellow members. “It made it a lot stronger album,” she says of the group work. “It was challenging at first – I often experienced a specific level of pride as a woman in music working independently. There’ve been so many times where I finished performing and an audience member will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I composed all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the scale of their visual elements. “The saying I live by is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on track for a fine art degree before balking at the idea of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express creativity,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, outfit planning, figuring out video editing clips … it’s all stuff I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to figure it out as we go.”

Even though developing the group’s detailed mythology (“Everyone’s urging me to document it because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the singer self-educated how to craft metal mesh – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly left her completely original scale armor design to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

What about the crowd? They loved the theatrical gore, foam swords and handmade props with similar excitement as the group. “We performed a concert in Detroit and it seemed like a medieval event,” remembers Riley fondly. “Everyone was in cloaks, sheepskin, armor.”

That’s not to imply, nevertheless, that traveling lifestyle as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “Each item is frequently damaged and gets repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Moreover I’ll have endless ideas as to how I desire the presentation, but we tour in a bus with restricted capacity. It’s an interesting challenge to give the sense like a larger-than-life story, then compress it into a small space.”

We’ve encountered further organizational challenges that didn’t affect fictional warriors. “We experienced an ‘oh shit’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in the European country and my luggage – which had my blade in it – got lost,” says Riley. “That was a worst-case scenario, because there is no an backup plan of the concert where I don’t have a sword.”

Goals Ahead

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is gung-ho about the future. “My goal is as far as possible – let’s do huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing everything is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we grow into. Plus, I wish to make an entrance on a unicorn every night. You know how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? The same idea, but using a unicorn.”