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Although plenty of rockers have taken inspiration from fantasy lore, rarely any have truly lived the fantasy way of life. Sure, they may adorn their album covers with creatures, beasts, captive women and brawny barbarians, but has any musician ever needed to retrieve a lost unicorn horn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Did a performer devoted hours peering in the back of a road transport, repairing their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and others as they act out their heroic dreams. Starting with medieval-inspired, memorable anthems to eye-popping performances, outfit creation, videos and cover artwork, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” says vocalist, guitarist, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle drives from a full-capacity concert in a German city to a second one in another town – they’re also doing multiple performances in the UK now. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a Halloween gig, where I chose at the final moment to wear a costume. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had a blast and the energy was unforgettable. I realized, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the ensemble – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” alongside a plague doctor (low-end instrumentalist), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – never turned back. The new record, the band’s second album, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands collaborating to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a epic masterpiece that positions them on the brink of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a first for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “That contributed to a lot stronger album,” she says of the group work. “It was challenging at first – I’d always felt a certain amount of pride being a woman in music going it alone. There’ve been so many times where I’ve got off stage and an audience member will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has increased, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on path for a art school education before pulling back at the prospect of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply artistic expression,” she says. “From creating face coverings, outfit planning, learning how to edit music videos … everything is I have no experience with, but it’s exciting to figure it out as we go.”

Even though creating the band’s intricate lore (“People are encouraging me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments didn’t suffice, the vocalist self-educated how to craft metal mesh – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly left her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she grins.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They embraced the stage blood, foam swords and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the band. “We had a concert in the Motor City and it looked like a historical festival,” reminisces Riley happily. “Everyone was in capes, wool garments, armor.”

That’s not to imply, however, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “Each item is constantly breaking and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I’ll have numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s a unique problem to give the sense like a grand epic, then pack it down into nothing.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “We experienced an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we appeared at a music event in the European country and my luggage – which had my sword in it – got lost,” says Riley. “That was a worst-case scenario, because there’s not an different option of the concert where I don’t have a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is enthusiastic about the days to come. “My goal is all the way – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The main aspect that’s truly essential to me is keeping the DIY aesthetic, making sure each detail is handmade. That’s an element I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we scale to. Plus, I desire to ride out on a unicorn at all performances. Think about how legends do the motorcycle thing? That, but on a mythical creature.”