🔗 Share this article

Although many musicians have taken inspiration from fantasy lore, rarely any have genuinely embodied the enchanted way of life. Certainly, they could adorn their record jackets with creatures, goblins, chained damsels and strong fighters, but did a member ever have to retrieve a lost mythical horn from a frost-covered ground in the midst of winter? Did a guitarist taken the time straining their eyes in the rear of a traveling vehicle, fixing their own armor?

Embracing the Mythos

Formed in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and additional ones as they embody their epic fantasies. Starting with knightly, catchy songs to stunning live shows, attire styling, videos and record designs, they’re more than a rock act as a total artistic immersion.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a costumed concept band,” says vocalist, guitarist, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van drives from a packed show in a German city to one more in another town – they are playing several shows in the UK now. “We played two shows and received an offer on a October show, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had a blast and the energy was electric. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have this much fun every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

Since then, the ensemble – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” joined by a pestilence physician (bass player), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (drummer) – haven’t looked back. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, evokes images of legendary heavy bands joining forces to battle their way through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a epic masterpiece that places them on the edge of greater success.

This album was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her bandmates. “It made it a lot stronger record,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – I’d always felt a particular degree of satisfaction as a woman in music doing everything solo. I’ve had numerous occasions where I finished performing and an audience member will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

With their growing popularity has expanded, so has the breadth of their visual elements. “The saying I live by is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on track for a art school education before hesitating at the idea of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s making masks, outfit planning, mastering post-production song visuals … it’s all stuff I don’t know how to do, but it’s exciting to figure it out in the moment.”

As if developing the ensemble’s complex backstory (“People are encouraging me to write it down because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes were insufficient, the vocalist learned on her own how to create armor – a difficult task, though she admittedly left her all-new scalemail look to a expert from NYC. “It’s as if actual armour,” she grins.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

What about the crowd? They embraced the theatrical gore, soft weapons and papier-mache rat skulls with as much gusto as the musicians. “We performed a gig in Detroit and it looked like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley fondly. “All attendees was in capes, animal hides, armor.”

However, this doesn’t mean, though, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been plain sailing. “All our gear is constantly breaking and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Moreover I’ll have endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we tour in a vehicle with restricted capacity. It’s a unique problem to create the impression like a larger-than-life story, then compress it into nothing.”

We faced additional practical issues that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at a Portuguese festival in Portugal and my luggage – which had my weapon in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “It was a worst-case scenario, because there is no an alternative version of the concert where I lack a sword.”

Future Ambitions

As a genuine leader, Riley is eager about the future. “My goal is as far as possible – let’s do stadiums,” she says. “The only thing that’s deeply meaningful to me is keeping the self-crafted look, ensuring all elements is custom-made. It’s a component I want to stay authentic to, regardless of we achieve. Oh, and I desire to ride out on a magical horse at all performances. Think about how some artists do the motorcycle thing? That, but using a unicorn.”