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While many rockers have borrowed from epic fantasy, only a handful have genuinely embodied the fantasy way of life. Certainly, they might adorn their album covers with creatures, goblins, chained damsels and strong fighters, but has any musician ever been forced to retrieve a lost mythical horn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Did a guitarist devoted hours squinting 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 others as they live out their grand tales. From heraldic, earworm-heavy songs to breathtaking concerts, costume design, videos and record designs, they’re more than a metal band as a complete sensory journey.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” states singer, guitar player, blade-handler and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport drives from a sold-out gig in Cologne to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they’re also doing several shows in the UK currently. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a Halloween gig, where I decided spontaneously to wear a costume. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had so much fun and the atmosphere was incredible. I thought, ‘How about if we could have so much excitement every time?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the ensemble – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” alongside a plague doctor (bassist), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (drummer) – haven’t looked back. The new record, the follow-up record, brings to mind of legendary heavy bands joining forces to struggle onward through a mythical painted realm – a epic masterpiece that places them on the verge of greater success.

This album was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her fellow members. “It made it a more powerful album,” she says of the group work. “I struggled at first – There was a sense of a certain amount of pride as a woman in music working independently. There’ve been multiple instances where after a show and an audience member will say, ‘The band compose cool melodies!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I created all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As their fame has expanded, so has the breadth of their production design. “The saying I live by is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on track for a fine art degree before balking at the idea of financial burden. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, attire creation, figuring out video editing clips … everything is I am unfamiliar with, but it’s enjoyable to discover as we go.”

Even though building the band’s intricate lore (“The team is pushing me to record it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, indicating her head) and making clothing didn’t suffice, the vocalist self-educated how to make chainmail – no mean feat, though she confessedly left her completely original scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It seems like actual armour,” she beams.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They embraced the fake blood, foam swords and crafted rodent bones with similar excitement as the musicians. “We played a concert in the Motor City and it resembled a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley happily. “All attendees was in robes, sheepskin, metal wear.”

This isn’t to say, though, that touring existence as fantasy adventurers has been easy. “Everything is frequently damaged and gets duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have countless concepts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we’re traveling in a van with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a grand epic, then store it into nothing.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that would never have plagued legendary fantasy heroes. “We did have an ‘oh shit’ moment when we played a music event in Portugal and my baggage – which had my weapon in it – went missing,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because there is no an alternative version of the concert where I lack a blade.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is gung-ho about the days to come. “My goal is as far as possible – we should play stadiums,” she says. “The only thing that’s truly essential to me is maintaining the handmade style, making sure each detail is crafted by us. That’s an element I want to stay authentic to, whatever we achieve. Plus, I desire to appear on a magical horse at all performances. You know how famous musicians use vehicles in concerts? That, but with a unicorn.”