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Although many artists have drawn from epic fantasy, rarely any have genuinely embodied the mythical lifestyle. Sure, they might decorate their album covers with ghouls, goblins, captive women and strong fighters, but has an artist ever have to retrieve a lost mythical horn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Has a guitarist spent time squinting in the rear of a traveling vehicle, fixing their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and additional ones as they act out their epic fantasies. Starting with heraldic, earworm-heavy tunes to eye-popping live shows, costume design, videos and cover artwork, they’re not so much a metal band as a total artistic immersion.

“It wasn’t planned to be a themed musical group,” explains singer, guitar player, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to one more in another town – they’re also doing multiple performances in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and were scheduled on a spooky event, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. The entire setup was highly handmade, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was unforgettable. I thought, ‘What if we could have such enjoyment at every show?’”

The Band’s Evolution

Since then, the band – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a medic from history (low-end instrumentalist), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (drummer) – haven’t looked back. The new record, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of famous rock groups uniting to battle their way through a heroic art landscape – a epic masterpiece that places them on the brink of greater success.

The release was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “This helped a much better album,” she says of the collaborative process. “It was challenging at first – I often experienced a certain amount of accomplishment as a woman in music doing everything solo. I’ve had multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As their fame has expanded, so has the scope of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on course for a art school education before balking at the possibility of heavy loans. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, costume design, learning how to edit clips … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to figure it out in the moment.”

Even though developing the band’s intricate lore (“People are encouraging me to document it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments were insufficient, the vocalist self-educated how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly left her all-new scale armor design to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They embraced the stage blood, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with as much gusto as the musicians. “We had a concert in Detroit and it looked like a Renaissance fair,” recalls Riley with affection. “The whole crowd was in capes, sheepskin, metal wear.”

However, this doesn’t mean, though, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “Everything is constantly breaking and ends up fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we tour in a vehicle with restricted capacity. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into minimal luggage.”

We faced other logistical problems that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “We experienced an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we appeared at a music event in Portugal and my luggage – which had my blade in it – went missing,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because there’s not an alternative version of the concert where I lack a sword.”

Goals Ahead

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is gung-ho about the what’s next. “I aim to reach as far as possible – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is keeping the handmade style, guaranteeing everything is handmade. That’s an element I want to keep true to, whatever we achieve. Oh, and I wish to ride out on a magical horse at all performances. Think about how legends use vehicles in concerts? The same idea, but on a mythical creature.”