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Although many musicians have borrowed from epic fantasy, rarely any have genuinely embodied the mythical existence. Admittedly, they might adorn their record jackets with creatures, beasts, captive women and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever have to find a lost unicorn horn from a snowy field in the midst of winter? Has anyone devoted hours straining their eyes in the rear of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own armor?

Embracing the Mythos

Created in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have had to face such situations and additional ones as they live out their heroic dreams. From heraldic, earworm-heavy tunes to stunning concerts, costume design, videos and cover artwork, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a full immersive experience.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” explains singer, guitarist, sword-wielder and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle drives from a sold-out gig in a German city to one more in Aschaffenburg – they have multiple performances in the UK now. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. Everything was super-DIY, but we had an amazing time and the feeling in the room was incredible. I realized, ‘How about if we could have this much fun at every show?’”

The Band’s Evolution

After that, the ensemble – which includes Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a plague doctor (low-end instrumentalist), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and secretive shaman (drummer) – continued forward. The Bestiary, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of classic metal icons uniting to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a grand composition that places them on the verge of bigger achievements.

The release was a first for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her fellow members. “That contributed to a lot stronger album,” she says of the collaborative process. “I struggled at first – There was a sense of a particular degree of satisfaction as a female in music doing everything solo. There’ve been so many times where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘The other members write great riffs!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I created all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As the band’s stature has grown, so has the scale of their production design. “The saying I live by is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. She was originally on track for a university studies in art before balking at the idea of so much debt. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to apply artistic expression,” she says. “Be it crafting disguises, outfit planning, learning how to edit music videos … these are all things I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to figure it out as we go.”

Even though developing the ensemble’s complex backstory (“Everyone’s urging me to document it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and sewing costumes wasn’t enough, the vocalist taught herself how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly delegated her completely original scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They embraced the fake blood, soft weapons and handmade props with similar excitement as the group. “We performed a gig in the Motor City and it resembled a medieval event,” remembers Riley happily. “All attendees was in robes, sheepskin, metal wear.”

That’s not to imply, nevertheless, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “All our gear is constantly breaking and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Plus I get endless ideas as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a van with limited room. It’s a unique problem to create the impression like a grand epic, then compress it into a small space.”

There have been further organizational challenges that didn’t affect mythic characters. “There was an ‘oh shit’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in the European country and my baggage – which had my blade in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “This became 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 gung-ho about the days to come. “I want to go as far as possible – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is maintaining the handmade style, ensuring everything is handmade. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, whatever we grow into. Oh, and I wish to make an entrance on a unicorn each show. Remember how famous musicians use vehicles in concerts? Exactly that, but on a mythical creature.”