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While plenty of artists have drawn from epic fantasy, rarely any have genuinely embodied the enchanted existence. Sure, they may embellish their album covers with monsters, imps, manacled maidens and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever been forced to find a missing mythical horn from a frost-covered ground in the midst of winter? Has a guitarist taken the time peering in the interior of a tour bus, repairing their own chainmail?

Embracing the Mythos

Formed in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have dealt with both these scenarios and additional ones as they embody their epic fantasies. From heraldic, earworm-heavy songs to eye-popping live shows, outfit creation, videos and cover artwork, they’re not just a heavy metal group as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a costumed concept band,” explains singer, guitar player, sword-wielder and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle speeds from a packed show in a German city to one more in Aschaffenburg – they’re also doing five gigs in the UK this week. “After a couple of performances and received an offer on a Halloween gig, where I decided spontaneously to put on an outfit. Everything was completely self-made, but we had so much fun and the atmosphere was electric. I thought, ‘How about if we could have this much fun at every show?’”

Development of Castle Rat

From that point on, the ensemble – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” alongside a medic from history (bass player), aristocratic undead (six-string player) and enigmatic nature priest (rhythm keeper) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the group’s sophomore release, brings to mind of famous rock groups collaborating to struggle onward through a heroic art landscape – a epic masterpiece that sets them on the edge of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her collaborators. “This helped a more powerful album,” she says of the team effort. “I had difficulty at first – I’d always felt a particular degree of accomplishment being a woman in music working independently. There’ve been so many times where after a show and an audience member will say, ‘The other members compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Hey – I wrote all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the scale of their production design. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on course for a art school education before balking at the prospect of heavy loans. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express artistry,” she says. “Be it crafting disguises, attire creation, learning how to edit music videos … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to learn on the fly.”

As if creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“People are encouraging me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the vocalist self-educated how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly left her all-new scale armor design to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Fan Response and Obstacles

What about the crowd? They loved the theatrical gore, foam swords and crafted rodent bones with as much gusto as the group. “We played a show in the Motor City and it resembled a Renaissance fair,” remembers Riley fondly. “All attendees was in capes, sheepskin, armor.”

However, this doesn’t mean, however, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “All our gear is always failing and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I get countless concepts as to how I want things to look, but we tour in a bus with limited room. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into nothing.”

We’ve encountered further organizational challenges that didn’t affect fictional warriors. “We did have an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in the European country and my baggage – which had my sword in it – got lost,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because there is no an backup plan of the show where I don’t have a sword.”

Goals Ahead

As a genuine leader, Riley is enthusiastic about the future. “I want to go to the top – let’s do stadiums,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is maintaining the DIY aesthetic, making sure everything is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to remain faithful to, regardless of we achieve. Plus, I wish to ride out on a magical horse each show. You know how famous musicians use vehicles in concerts? That, but on a mythical creature.”