🔗 Share this article

While many rockers have taken inspiration from fantasy lore, rarely any have genuinely embodied the fantasy way of life. Certainly, they might adorn their album covers with monsters, imps, captive women and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever needed to recover a missing mythical horn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Has a guitarist devoted hours peering in the rear of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own metal mesh?

Embracing the Mythos

Formed in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have encountered these exact challenges and additional ones as they act out their heroic dreams. From heraldic, memorable anthems to breathtaking live shows, outfit creation, music videos and cover artwork, they’re not so much a rock act as a full immersive experience.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a costumed concept band,” explains vocalist, guitar player, sword-wielder and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport drives from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to one more in another town – they’re also doing five gigs in the UK now. “Initially, we performed twice and were scheduled on a October show, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had so much fun and the atmosphere was electric. I realized, ‘What if we could have this much fun every time?’”

Growth of the Group

After that, the band – which features Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a medic from history (bassist), proud bloodsucker (guitarist) and mysterious druid (percussionist) – never turned back. The new record, the follow-up record, brings to mind of classic metal icons collaborating to battle their way through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that sets them on the verge of greater success.

The release was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her collaborators. “That contributed to a much better album,” she says of the group work. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a certain amount of accomplishment being a woman in music going it alone. There’ve been so many times where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘The band write great riffs!’ and I respond, ‘Hey – I wrote all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As the band’s stature has increased, so has the scale of their production design. “My philosophy is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on course for a art school education before hesitating at the idea of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to express artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, outfit planning, figuring out video editing clips … everything is I am unfamiliar with, but it’s enjoyable to figure it out on the fly.”

As if building the band’s intricate lore (“The team is pushing me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, tapping her head) and stitching garments didn’t suffice, the vocalist self-educated how to make chainmail – no mean feat, though she admittedly delegated her brand-new scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

What about the crowd? They took to the theatrical gore, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with as much gusto as the group. “We played a gig in Detroit and it looked like a medieval event,” remembers Riley fondly. “Everyone was in robes, sheepskin, metal wear.”

However, this doesn’t mean, nevertheless, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been smooth. “All our gear is always failing and gets repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Plus I get endless ideas as to how I desire the presentation, but we tour in a vehicle with restricted capacity. It’s an interesting challenge to make it feel like a mythic tale, then pack it down into minimal luggage.”

We’ve encountered other logistical problems that didn’t affect fictional warriors. “We experienced an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played a Portuguese festival in Portugal and my baggage – which had my sword in it – got lost,” says Riley. “It was a terrible situation, because there’s not an backup plan of the performance where I don’t have a blade.”

Future Ambitions

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is gung-ho about the what’s next. “My goal is all the way – we should play large venues,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, making sure everything is custom-made. That’s an element I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we grow into. Oh, and I want to appear on a mythical beast every night. Think about how some artists do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but on a mythical creature.”