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Although plenty of musicians have taken inspiration from epic fantasy, rarely any have genuinely embodied the fantasy lifestyle. Sure, they might embellish their record jackets with monsters, goblins, chained damsels and strong fighters, but has an artist ever have to recover a missing mythical horn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Did a performer taken the time peering in the rear of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own armor?

Living the Fantasy

Created in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have dealt with both these scenarios and additional ones as they act out their grand tales. Starting with knightly, earworm-heavy songs to eye-popping concerts, attire styling, music videos and record designs, they’re not so much a rock act as a full immersive experience.

“It wasn’t planned to be a themed musical group,” explains vocalist, guitar player, blade-handler and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport travels from a sold-out gig in Cologne to another in Aschaffenburg – they’re also doing five gigs in the UK currently. “We played two shows and got booked 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 unforgettable. It occurred to me, ‘What if we could have this much fun always?’”

Growth of the Group

Since then, the band – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” joined by a pestilence physician (bass player), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and mysterious druid (percussionist) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, conjures visions of classic metal icons collaborating to struggle onward through a heroic art landscape – a heroic opus that sets them on the edge of bigger achievements.

This album was a first for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her bandmates. “That contributed to a lot stronger record,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – There was a sense of a particular degree of satisfaction being a woman in music going it alone. There have been so many times where I’ve got off stage and some guy will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I think, ‘Hey – I wrote all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the scope of their production design. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. Initially, she was on track for a fine art degree before pulling back at the possibility of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to apply artistry,” she says. “From creating face coverings, attire creation, learning how to edit song visuals … these are all things I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to learn on the fly.”

As if building the ensemble’s complex backstory (“People are encouraging me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and making clothing wasn’t enough, the singer taught herself how to create armor – a difficult task, though she confessedly left her completely original scale armor design to a expert from NYC. “It feels like actual armour,” she beams.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They loved the fake blood, toy blades and handmade props with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We had a concert in Detroit and it looked like a medieval event,” recalls Riley fondly. “All attendees was in robes, animal hides, armor.”

This isn’t to say, though, that touring existence as fantasy adventurers has been plain sailing. “Everything is always failing and ends up duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I come up with endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we’re traveling in a van with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a mythic tale, then store it into minimal luggage.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that didn’t affect legendary fantasy heroes. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my blade in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “It was a terrible situation, because we don’t have an different option of the concert where I don’t have a sword.”

Future Ambitions

As a genuine leader, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “I aim to reach to the top – let’s do stadiums,” she says. “The key element that’s really important to me is maintaining the self-crafted look, guaranteeing all elements is handmade. That’s an element I want to remain faithful to, whatever we achieve. Oh, and I want to appear on a magical horse at all performances. Think about how some artists use vehicles in concerts? Exactly that, but on a mythical creature.”