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While many artists have taken inspiration from high fantasy, few have fully embraced the enchanted existence. Certainly, they may decorate their album sleeves with monsters, imps, captive women and strong fighters, but did a member ever been forced to find a missing horn from a unicorn from a wintry landscape in the midst of winter? Did a guitarist taken the time squinting in the rear of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and more as they embody their epic fantasies. From medieval-inspired, catchy tunes to stunning performances, costume design, music videos and album art, they’re more than a rock act as a total artistic immersion.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” explains vocalist, guitar player, sword-carrier and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport speeds from a packed show in a German city to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they have several shows in the UK this week. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. It was all completely self-made, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was unforgettable. I realized, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

After that, the band – which features Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” joined by a plague doctor (bassist), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and secretive shaman (percussionist) – continued forward. Their latest album, the band’s second album, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands collaborating to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that sets them on the edge of greater success.

This album was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her bandmates. “That contributed to a much better record,” she says of the team effort. “I struggled at first – I often experienced a certain amount of accomplishment as a female in music doing everything solo. There’ve been so many times where I’ve got off stage and an audience member will say, ‘Those guys create awesome guitar parts!’ and I think, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As the band’s stature has grown, so has the scale of their visual elements. “My philosophy is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on track for a art school education before balking at the prospect of heavy loans. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to apply artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, costume design, figuring out video editing music videos … it’s all stuff I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to discover on the fly.”

As if creating the band’s intricate lore (“Everyone’s urging me to write it down because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes wasn’t enough, the vocalist taught herself how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly entrusted her brand-new scalemail look to a New York-based specialist. “It feels like actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They loved the theatrical gore, foam swords and handmade props with as much gusto as the musicians. “We performed a show in Detroit and it resembled a medieval event,” recalls Riley fondly. “The whole crowd was in robes, animal hides, chainmail.”

However, this doesn’t mean, however, that touring existence as mythical wanderers has been plain sailing. “All our gear is constantly breaking and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Plus I’ll have endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we tour in a van with limited room. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a mythic tale, then pack it down into nothing.”

We faced other logistical problems that wouldn’t have troubled legendary fantasy heroes. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we played a music event in the European country and my suitcase – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “This became a terrible situation, because there is no an different option of the concert where I am without a weapon.”

Goals Ahead

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is gung-ho about the future. “I want to go all the way – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The key element that’s truly essential to me is keeping the handmade style, making sure all elements is custom-made. This is a feature I want to stay authentic to, regardless of we grow into. Plus, I desire to make an entrance on a unicorn each show. You know how famous musicians use vehicles in concerts? That, but with a unicorn.”