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While plenty of artists have borrowed from fantasy lore, rarely any have genuinely embodied the enchanted lifestyle. Admittedly, they could decorate their album covers with monsters, beasts, chained damsels and strong fighters, but has any musician ever needed to find a missing unicorn horn from a wintry landscape in the depths of winter? Has a performer devoted hours straining their eyes in the interior of a road transport, mending their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have dealt with these exact challenges and more as they embody their epic fantasies. From knightly, catchy songs to stunning concerts, attire styling, visuals and cover artwork, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a full immersive experience.

“It wasn’t planned to be a costumed concept band,” states singer, guitar player, blade-handler and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport drives from a sold-out gig in a German city to another in Aschaffenburg – they are playing several shows in the UK currently. “Initially, we performed twice and got booked on a Halloween gig, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had a blast and the energy was electric. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have such enjoyment every time?’”

The Band’s Evolution

Since then, the group – which features Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a plague doctor (bass player), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and mysterious druid (percussionist) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the group’s sophomore release, evokes images of classic metal icons collaborating to battle their way through a heroic art landscape – a epic masterpiece that positions them on the verge of bigger achievements.

This album was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “That contributed to a more powerful project,” she says of the group work. “I struggled at first – I often experienced a particular degree of satisfaction as a woman in music working independently. There have been multiple instances where after a show and an audience member will say, ‘The band compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I composed all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As their fame has grown, so has the scope of their production design. “My philosophy is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. At first, she had been on course for a fine art degree before hesitating at the possibility of heavy loans. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate artistic expression,” she says. “Be it crafting disguises, attire creation, figuring out video editing music videos … these are all things I have no experience with, but it’s exciting to figure it out as we go.”

As if creating the group’s detailed mythology (“Everyone’s urging me to record it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the vocalist learned on her own how to craft metal mesh – a difficult task, though she admittedly left her all-new scalemail look to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

What about the crowd? They loved the stage blood, toy blades and crafted rodent bones with as much gusto as the group. “We played a show in Detroit and it looked like a historical festival,” recalls Riley with affection. “All attendees was in capes, sheepskin, chainmail.”

That’s not to imply, however, that touring existence as fantasy adventurers has been smooth. “Each item is always failing and gets fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I get endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we’re traveling in a vehicle with limited room. It’s a unique problem to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into nothing.”

We faced additional practical issues that didn’t affect mythic characters. “There was an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my blade in it – got lost,” says Riley. “It was a worst-case scenario, because there’s not an alternative version of the show where I don’t have a sword.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is enthusiastic 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 preserving the self-crafted look, ensuring everything is handmade. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, whatever we scale to. Additionally, I wish to appear on a magical horse every night. Think about how some artists ride bikes on stage? The same idea, but on a mythical creature.”