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Although many rockers have borrowed from high fantasy, few have fully embraced the mythical lifestyle. Certainly, they may adorn their album sleeves with ghouls, goblins, chained damsels and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever have to retrieve a missing horn from a unicorn from a wintry landscape in the depths of winter? Did a performer devoted hours squinting in the back of a traveling vehicle, fixing their own metal mesh?

Embracing the Mythos

Established in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and additional ones as they embody their heroic dreams. From heraldic, catchy tunes to stunning performances, costume design, music videos and album art, they’re not just a rock act as a full immersive experience.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a costumed concept band,” says vocalist, guitar player, sword-wielder and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van 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 currently. “We played two shows and got booked on a spooky event, where I decided spontaneously to put on an outfit. Everything was super-DIY, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was electric. I thought, ‘What if we could have such enjoyment always?’”

Growth of the Group

After that, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” joined by a plague doctor (low-end instrumentalist), aristocratic undead (six-string player) and secretive shaman (percussionist) – haven’t looked back. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, evokes images of classic metal icons uniting to struggle onward through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that sets them on the verge of far grander things.

The release was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “It made it a lot stronger project,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – I’d always felt a particular degree of satisfaction as a female in music going it alone. I’ve had so many times where after a show and a person will say, ‘The band write great riffs!’ and I’m like, ‘Wait – I composed all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the scope of their production design. “My philosophy is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. At first, she had been on path for a fine art degree before hesitating at the possibility of heavy loans. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to demonstrate creativity,” she says. “From making masks, attire creation, figuring out video editing music videos … it’s all stuff I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to discover on the fly.”

Even though creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“Everyone’s urging me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes were insufficient, the singer taught herself how to make chainmail – a difficult task, though she admittedly entrusted her brand-new scalemail look to a New York-based specialist. “It feels like actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

What about the crowd? They embraced the fake blood, soft weapons and handmade props with as much gusto as the musicians. “We played a gig in the Motor City and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley with affection. “All attendees was in robes, wool garments, metal wear.”

That’s not to imply, though, that touring existence as mythical wanderers has been smooth. “All our gear is always failing and ends up fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with numerous thoughts as to how I desire the presentation, but we’re traveling in a vehicle with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a larger-than-life story, then store it into a small space.”

We faced other logistical problems that wouldn’t have troubled legendary fantasy heroes. “We experienced an ‘oh shit’ moment when we performed at a Portuguese festival in Portugal and my suitcase – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “It was a nightmare, because there is no an different option of the concert where I am without a sword.”

Future Ambitions

As a genuine leader, Riley is enthusiastic about the days to come. “My goal is as far as possible – we should play large venues,” she says. “The key element that’s really important to me is keeping the DIY aesthetic, ensuring each detail is crafted by us. That’s an element I want to stay authentic to, no matter what we scale to. Plus, I desire to make an entrance on a mythical beast every night. Remember how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? That, but using a unicorn.”