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While plenty of musicians have drawn from fantasy lore, only a handful have genuinely embodied the mythical existence. Certainly, they could decorate their record jackets with creatures, imps, chained damsels and muscular warriors, but has any musician ever have to retrieve a misplaced mythical horn from a snowy field in the midst of winter? Has a performer taken the time squinting in the interior of a tour bus, repairing their own armor?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and others as they act out their heroic dreams. From knightly, catchy anthems to breathtaking concerts, attire styling, music videos and cover artwork, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a full immersive experience.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a costumed concept band,” explains vocalist, guitarist, sword-wielder and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle travels from a sold-out gig in Cologne to another in another town – they have multiple performances in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a Halloween gig, where I decided spontaneously to put on an outfit. The entire setup was highly handmade, but we had a blast and the energy was electric. I thought, ‘How about if we could have so much excitement every time?’”

The Band’s Evolution

Since then, the ensemble – which features Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” alongside a plague doctor (low-end instrumentalist), proud bloodsucker (six-string player) and secretive shaman (rhythm keeper) – continued forward. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, brings to mind of legendary heavy bands collaborating to battle their way through a heroic art landscape – a heroic opus that places them on the verge of far grander things.

This album was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her fellow members. “It made it a more powerful album,” she says of the group work. “It was challenging at first – I’d always felt a particular degree of accomplishment as a female in music doing everything solo. There’ve been multiple instances where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘Those guys write great riffs!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I wrote all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As their fame has grown, so has the scale of their visual elements. “The saying I live by is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. Initially, she was on path for a art school education before hesitating at the idea of financial burden. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to demonstrate creativity,” she says. “Be it making masks, outfit planning, learning how to edit music videos … these are all things I have no experience with, but it’s enjoyable to learn as we go.”

As if building the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to document it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, tapping her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the singer learned on her own how to craft metal mesh – a difficult task, though she admittedly left her all-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a New York-based specialist. “It seems like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They embraced the stage blood, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with similar excitement as the band. “We had a gig in Detroit and it looked like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley happily. “Everyone was in capes, wool garments, armor.”

This isn’t to say, nevertheless, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “Everything is frequently damaged and gets duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I come up with numerous thoughts as to how I want things to look, but we tour in a vehicle with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to create the impression like a larger-than-life story, then compress it into a small space.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “We experienced an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my suitcase – which had my blade in it – went missing,” says Riley. “That was a worst-case scenario, because we don’t have an backup plan of the concert where I lack a sword.”

Future Ambitions

As a genuine leader, Riley is eager about the future. “I aim to reach all the way – we should play stadiums,” she says. “The only thing that’s truly essential to me is keeping the self-crafted look, guaranteeing all elements is custom-made. That’s an element I want to keep true to, whatever we achieve. Plus, I desire to ride out on a magical horse every night. Think about how legends use vehicles in concerts? That, but on a mythical creature.”