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While numerous musicians have borrowed from epic fantasy, only a handful have genuinely embodied the mythical way of life. Certainly, they may adorn their album sleeves with ghouls, beasts, captive women and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever been forced to find a missing horn from a unicorn from a wintry landscape in the midst of winter? Did anyone devoted hours straining their eyes in the back of a road transport, mending their own armor?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered such situations and more as they act out their grand tales. Starting with knightly, catchy songs to stunning performances, outfit creation, videos and record designs, they’re not just a heavy metal group as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a costumed concept band,” states singer, guitar player, sword-wielder and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport drives from a packed show in Cologne to one more in another town – they are playing five gigs in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a Halloween gig, where I decided spontaneously to put on an outfit. The entire setup was highly handmade, but we had so much fun and the energy was incredible. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement every time?’”

Growth of the Group

After that, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a plague doctor (bass player), aristocratic undead (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (percussionist) – never turned back. Their latest album, the follow-up record, brings to mind of classic metal icons collaborating to battle their way through a heroic art landscape – a grand composition that positions them on the edge of bigger achievements.

This album was a first for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her fellow members. “That contributed to a lot stronger project,” she says of the team effort. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a particular degree of satisfaction as a female in music working independently. There’ve been multiple instances where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘The other members compose cool melodies!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I wrote all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

With their growing popularity has expanded, so has the scope of their production design. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on path for a art school education before pulling back at the possibility of heavy loans. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to apply creativity,” she says. “From making masks, outfit planning, mastering post-production song visuals … everything is I am unfamiliar with, but it’s exciting to learn in the moment.”

As if building the band’s intricate lore (“Everyone’s urging me to write it down because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and stitching garments didn’t suffice, the singer taught herself how to craft metal mesh – no mean feat, though she confessedly entrusted her brand-new scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They loved the fake blood, foam swords and crafted rodent bones with similar excitement as the musicians. “We had a gig in Detroit and it looked like a medieval event,” remembers Riley fondly. “Everyone was in robes, wool garments, armor.”

This isn’t to say, though, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been smooth. “Everything is always failing and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Plus I’ll have countless concepts as to how I desire the presentation, but we are on the move in a bus with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a mythic tale, then pack it down into minimal luggage.”

There have been further organizational challenges that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played a music event in Portugal and my baggage – which had my weapon in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “It was a worst-case scenario, because there’s not an alternative version of the show where I don’t have a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is eager about the future. “My goal is as far as possible – I dream of huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s deeply meaningful to me is keeping the handmade style, making sure all elements is custom-made. That’s an element I want to remain faithful to, regardless of we grow into. Oh, and I desire to appear on a mythical beast each show. Remember how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? The same idea, but on a mythical creature.”