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Although many rockers have borrowed from high fantasy, few have truly lived the fantasy existence. Certainly, they might adorn their record jackets with ghouls, goblins, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but did a member ever needed to recover a lost horn from a unicorn from a wintry landscape in the depths of winter? Has a performer devoted hours peering in the rear of a traveling vehicle, fixing their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Formed in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have encountered these exact challenges and others as they live out their epic fantasies. From knightly, catchy tunes to stunning concerts, outfit creation, music videos and record designs, they’re not so much a rock act as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a costumed concept band,” says singer, guitarist, sword-wielder and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle speeds from a packed show in a German city to one more in Aschaffenburg – they are playing multiple performances in the UK now. “Initially, we performed twice and got booked on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. It was all completely self-made, but we had a blast and the atmosphere was electric. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have this much fun at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

Since then, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a pestilence physician (bass player), haughty vampire (lead guitarist) and secretive shaman (rhythm keeper) – haven’t looked back. The new record, the band’s second album, evokes images of legendary heavy bands joining forces to battle their way through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a grand composition that places them on the brink of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her fellow members. “This helped a much better project,” she says of the group work. “It was challenging at first – There was a sense of a certain amount of satisfaction as a female in music going it alone. I’ve had so many times where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘The other members compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I composed all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As their fame has expanded, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on path for a art school education before hesitating at the prospect of so much debt. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to apply creativity,” she says. “Be it crafting disguises, outfit planning, mastering post-production music videos … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to discover on the fly.”

As if building the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to write it down because everything is stored,” Riley says, tapping her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the singer taught herself how to create armor – no mean feat, though she admittedly entrusted her all-new scale armor design to a expert from NYC. “It’s as if actual armour,” she grins.

Fan Response and Obstacles

What about the crowd? They loved the stage blood, soft weapons and papier-mache rat skulls with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We had a show in Detroit and it seemed like a historical festival,” recalls Riley fondly. “All attendees was in robes, wool garments, armor.”

That’s not to imply, nevertheless, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been plain sailing. “All our gear is frequently damaged and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we’re traveling in a van with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a mythic tale, then pack it down into minimal luggage.”

We faced further organizational challenges that would never have plagued legendary fantasy heroes. “There was an ‘oh shit’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in the European country and my baggage – which had my weapon in it – got lost,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because we don’t have an backup plan of the performance where I don’t have a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is enthusiastic about the what’s next. “I want to go all the way – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s truly essential to me is maintaining the DIY aesthetic, making sure each detail is handmade. It’s a component I want to keep true to, no matter what we grow into. Oh, and I want to appear on a magical horse every night. Remember how some artists use vehicles in concerts? The same idea, but on a mythical creature.”