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While plenty of musicians have drawn from epic fantasy, few have truly lived the enchanted way of life. Admittedly, they may decorate their record jackets with ghouls, goblins, manacled maidens and muscular warriors, but has any musician ever needed to retrieve a misplaced mythical horn from a snowy field in the depths of winter? Has a guitarist spent time squinting in the interior of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own metal mesh?

Embracing the Mythos

Created in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and more as they embody their heroic dreams. Starting with medieval-inspired, catchy tunes to breathtaking live shows, attire styling, music videos and cover artwork, they’re not just a rock act as a complete sensory journey.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a outfit with characters,” states vocalist, guitarist, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van travels from a packed show in Cologne to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they are playing several shows in the UK this week. “After a couple of performances and received an offer on a October show, where I decided spontaneously to put on an outfit. It was all super-DIY, but we had an amazing time and the energy was incredible. It occurred to me, ‘Imagine if we could have this much fun always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

Since then, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” alongside a medic from history (bassist), aristocratic undead (lead guitarist) and secretive shaman (drummer) – continued forward. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, brings to mind of classic metal icons uniting to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a epic masterpiece that sets them on the brink of greater success.

This album was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her fellow members. “That contributed to a much better record,” she says of the collaborative process. “I struggled at first – There was a sense of a particular degree of pride as a woman in music working independently. There’ve been so many times where after a show and some guy will say, ‘The band compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Hey – I wrote all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As their fame has increased, so has the scope of their production design. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. At first, she had been on course for a university studies in art before pulling back at the prospect of financial burden. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express artistic expression,” she says. “Be it creating face coverings, costume design, figuring out video editing clips … it’s all stuff I have no experience with, but it’s fun to figure it out in the moment.”

Even though 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 wasn’t enough, the vocalist taught herself how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly delegated her completely original reptilian-inspired outfit to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

Regarding the fans? They loved the stage blood, soft weapons and papier-mache rat skulls with similar excitement as the musicians. “We performed a concert in Detroit and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley fondly. “Everyone was in robes, wool garments, armor.”

This isn’t to say, nevertheless, that traveling lifestyle as fantasy adventurers has been plain sailing. “Everything is always failing and ends up fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Moreover I get countless concepts as to how I desire the presentation, but we are on the move in a van with only so much space. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into nothing.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we performed at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my luggage – which had my sword in it – got lost,” says Riley. “It was a nightmare, because there’s not an alternative version of the show where I don’t have a blade.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is enthusiastic about the what’s next. “I want to go to the top – we should play large venues,” she says. “The key element that’s really important to me is maintaining the handmade style, guaranteeing everything is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to stay authentic to, no matter what we achieve. Oh, and I wish to appear on a mythical beast every night. You know how legends ride bikes on stage? That, but on a mythical creature.”