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While many artists have borrowed from fantasy lore, rarely any have fully embraced the fantasy existence. Admittedly, they may embellish their record jackets with creatures, imps, chained damsels and strong fighters, but has any musician ever been forced to recover a lost unicorn horn from a snowy field in the depths of winter? Did a performer devoted hours peering in the rear of a traveling vehicle, mending their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Established in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have encountered these exact challenges and others as they embody their epic fantasies. Starting with medieval-inspired, catchy anthems to stunning concerts, attire styling, visuals and cover artwork, they’re more than a rock act as a complete sensory journey.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” says vocalist, guitar player, blade-handler and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they have multiple performances in the UK now. “We played two shows and received an offer on a Halloween gig, where I made a last-minute decision to put on an outfit. Everything was highly handmade, but we had a blast and the feeling in the room was electric. I realized, ‘How about if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” together with a plague doctor (bass player), aristocratic undead (six-string player) and mysterious druid (drummer) – haven’t looked back. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands joining forces to struggle onward through a heroic art landscape – a epic masterpiece that places them on the verge of bigger achievements.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her collaborators. “This helped a lot stronger record,” she says of the team effort. “It was challenging at first – There was a sense of a particular degree of accomplishment as a woman in music doing everything solo. There’ve been numerous occasions where I’ve got off stage and some guy will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I composed all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As their fame has expanded, so has the breadth of their stage presentation. “The saying I live by is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. Initially, she was on track for a art school education before balking at the prospect of so much debt. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to express artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s making masks, costume design, figuring out video editing clips … these are all things I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to learn as we go.”

As if building the ensemble’s complex backstory (“Everyone’s urging me to record it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, tapping her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the singer self-educated how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly delegated her completely original reptilian-inspired outfit to a New York-based specialist. “It seems like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

Regarding the fans? They embraced the theatrical gore, foam swords and handmade props with as much gusto as the group. “We played a gig in the Motor City and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” recalls Riley fondly. “Everyone was in cloaks, sheepskin, armor.”

This isn’t to say, though, that traveling lifestyle as fantasy adventurers has been easy. “Each item is always failing and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Plus I’ll have countless concepts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we’re traveling in a van with limited room. It’s an interesting challenge to make it feel like a grand epic, then pack it down into a small space.”

We faced further organizational challenges that would never have plagued legendary fantasy heroes. “We did have an ‘disastrous’ moment when we appeared at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “It was a worst-case scenario, because we don’t have an different option of the performance where I am without a sword.”

Future Ambitions

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is gung-ho about the future. “I aim to reach all the way – let’s do huge arenas,” she says. “The key element that’s really important to me is keeping the handmade style, making sure each detail is handmade. It’s a component I want to remain faithful to, whatever we scale to. Additionally, I want to appear on a magical horse at all performances. Think about how legends do the motorcycle thing? The same idea, but on a mythical creature.”