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While many artists have borrowed from epic fantasy, few have fully embraced the mythical lifestyle. Admittedly, they could decorate their record jackets with monsters, imps, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but did a member ever been forced to retrieve a missing unicorn horn from a frost-covered ground in the heart of winter? Did anyone devoted hours squinting in the rear of a tour bus, fixing their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Formed in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and more as they embody their heroic dreams. Starting with heraldic, catchy tunes to breathtaking performances, attire styling, music videos and cover artwork, they’re more than a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“It wasn’t planned to be a themed musical group,” explains singer, guitar player, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport drives from a full-capacity concert in a German city to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they have five gigs in the UK currently. “Initially, we performed twice and got booked on a spooky event, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. Everything was highly handmade, but we had an amazing time and the energy was unforgettable. It occurred to me, ‘What if we could have this much fun at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

After that, the group – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” alongside a medic from history (bass player), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (percussionist) – continued forward. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, brings to mind of legendary heavy bands joining forces to battle their way through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that positions them on the edge of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her fellow members. “It made it a more powerful album,” she says of the group work. “It was challenging at first – There was a sense of a specific level of pride as a woman in music working independently. There have been numerous occasions where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘Those guys write great riffs!’ and I think, ‘Wait – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has increased, so has the scope of their stage presentation. “The saying I live by is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on path for a fine art degree before pulling back at the possibility of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to demonstrate creativity,” she says. “From crafting disguises, outfit planning, mastering post-production clips … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s exciting to figure it out in the moment.”

Even though developing the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to document it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the vocalist taught herself how to make chainmail – a difficult task, though she confessedly left her completely original scale armor design to a New York-based specialist. “It seems like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They embraced the theatrical gore, toy blades and crafted rodent bones with as much gusto as the musicians. “We played a show in the Motor City and it looked like a medieval event,” recalls Riley with affection. “All attendees was in robes, wool garments, chainmail.”

This isn’t to say, though, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been smooth. “All our gear is frequently damaged and ends up repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Moreover I come up with endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we are on the move 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 minimal luggage.”

There have been other logistical problems that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “There was an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we appeared at a music event in the European country and my luggage – which had my sword in it – got lost,” says Riley. “It was a nightmare, because we don’t have an alternative version of the show where I lack a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is eager about the days to come. “I aim to reach to the top – let’s do stadiums,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is keeping the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing everything is handmade. It’s a component I want to keep true to, no matter what we achieve. Additionally, I want to ride out on a unicorn at all performances. Remember how some artists use vehicles in concerts? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”