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While numerous artists have taken inspiration from epic fantasy, rarely any have fully embraced the enchanted way of life. Certainly, they may embellish their album covers with creatures, beasts, chained damsels and strong fighters, but has an artist ever have to recover a misplaced unicorn horn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Did anyone spent time straining their eyes in the back of a road transport, repairing their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Formed in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have encountered these exact challenges and additional ones as they embody their epic fantasies. Starting with heraldic, earworm-heavy tunes to breathtaking live shows, attire styling, visuals and record designs, they’re not just a heavy metal group as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” explains vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport speeds from a sold-out gig in Cologne to one more in another town – they have multiple performances in the UK this week. “We played two shows and were scheduled on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to put on an outfit. Everything was super-DIY, but we had an amazing time and the feeling in the room was electric. It occurred to me, ‘How about if we could have this much fun every time?’”

The Band’s Evolution

From that point on, the ensemble – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a plague doctor (bass player), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and secretive shaman (percussionist) – never turned back. Their latest album, the band’s second album, conjures visions of classic metal icons joining forces to battle their way through a mythical painted realm – a grand composition that positions them on the brink of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her fellow members. “This helped a lot stronger project,” she says of the team effort. “I had difficulty at first – I’d always felt a certain amount of pride as a woman in music doing everything solo. There’ve been numerous occasions where after a show and a person will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Hey – I composed all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As the band’s stature has increased, so has the scale of their production design. “My motto is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on course for a fine art degree before hesitating at the idea of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express creativity,” she says. “Be it making masks, costume design, figuring out video editing song visuals … these are all things I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to discover in the moment.”

Even though building the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to document it because everything is stored,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and sewing costumes were insufficient, the singer learned on her own how to craft metal mesh – no mean feat, though she confessedly entrusted her completely original scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

What about the crowd? They took to the fake blood, soft weapons and handmade props with equal enthusiasm as the band. “We performed a concert in the Motor City and it looked like a Renaissance fair,” recalls Riley with affection. “All attendees was in robes, wool garments, armor.”

However, this doesn’t mean, nevertheless, that life on the road as mythical wanderers has been plain sailing. “Each item is always failing and gets repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I come up with endless ideas as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a van with limited room. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a mythic tale, then pack it down into nothing.”

We faced additional practical issues that wouldn’t have troubled legendary fantasy heroes. “There was an ‘oh shit’ moment when we appeared 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 alternative version of the performance where I am without a blade.”

Future Ambitions

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “My goal is all the way – let’s do huge arenas,” she says. “The key element that’s truly essential to me is maintaining the self-crafted look, guaranteeing everything is crafted by us. That’s an element I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we grow into. Additionally, I wish to make an entrance on a magical horse each show. You know how some artists ride bikes on stage? The same idea, but using a unicorn.”