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While many artists have drawn from high fantasy, only a handful have genuinely embodied the fantasy existence. Admittedly, they may adorn their album covers with ghouls, beasts, captive women and strong fighters, but has an artist ever needed to recover a missing unicorn horn from a wintry landscape in the depths of winter? Did a performer devoted hours straining their eyes in the rear of a road transport, fixing their own armor?

Embracing the Mythos

Established in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have had to face these exact challenges and additional ones as they act out their epic fantasies. From medieval-inspired, catchy songs to breathtaking live shows, costume design, visuals and album art, they’re not just a rock act as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a costumed concept band,” says vocalist, guitar player, sword-carrier and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van travels from a sold-out gig in Cologne to another in Aschaffenburg – they have multiple performances in the UK currently. “We played two shows and got booked on a Halloween gig, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. Everything was completely self-made, but we had an amazing time and the atmosphere was electric. I thought, ‘How about if we could have this much fun every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

From that point on, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” together with a pestilence physician (bass player), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – continued forward. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, brings to mind of legendary heavy bands collaborating to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a grand composition that places them on the brink of greater success.

The release was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her fellow members. “This helped a much better project,” she says of the group work. “It was challenging at first – I often experienced a particular degree of pride as a female in music doing everything solo. There’ve been numerous occasions where I’ve got off stage and some guy will say, ‘The other members create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As the band’s stature has grown, so has the scope of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on track for a university studies in art before hesitating at the idea of financial burden. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to demonstrate artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s making masks, attire creation, learning how to edit clips … it’s all stuff I have no experience with, but it’s enjoyable to learn on the fly.”

As if developing the band’s intricate lore (“The team is pushing me to record it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the singer taught herself how to make chainmail – a difficult task, though she confessedly entrusted her all-new scalemail look to a New York-based specialist. “It seems like actual armour,” she grins.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

Regarding the fans? They embraced the stage blood, soft weapons and handmade props with similar excitement as the musicians. “We played a show in the Motor City and it looked like a historical festival,” recalls Riley happily. “The whole crowd was in cloaks, wool garments, chainmail.”

However, this doesn’t mean, though, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “Each item is constantly breaking and ends up repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with countless concepts as to how I desire the presentation, but we’re traveling in a van with limited room. It’s a fascinating test to create the impression like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into nothing.”

We’ve encountered other logistical problems that would never have plagued mythic characters. “There was an ‘oh shit’ moment when we played a Portuguese festival in Portugal and my suitcase – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “It was a worst-case scenario, because there is no an backup plan of the show where I lack a blade.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is gung-ho about the what’s next. “My goal is all the way – let’s do huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s deeply meaningful to me is preserving the self-crafted look, ensuring all elements is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to stay authentic to, regardless of we scale to. Oh, and I desire to appear on a mythical beast at all performances. Think about how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”