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While plenty of artists have taken inspiration from high fantasy, rarely any have fully embraced the mythical way of life. Sure, they may decorate their album sleeves with ghouls, imps, captive women and strong fighters, but did a member ever been forced to find a missing unicorn horn from a snowy field in the midst of winter? Has anyone taken the time squinting in the rear of a traveling vehicle, mending their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Established in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have encountered these exact challenges and more as they act out their epic fantasies. Starting with heraldic, earworm-heavy anthems to stunning live shows, outfit creation, 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, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van drives from a packed show in Cologne to another in another town – they are playing multiple performances in the UK now. “After a couple of performances and received an offer on a spooky event, where I decided spontaneously to wear a costume. It was all highly handmade, but we had an amazing time and the atmosphere was incredible. I realized, ‘How about if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the band – which includes Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” joined by a medic from history (bass player), haughty vampire (guitarist) and mysterious druid (drummer) – haven’t looked back. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of classic metal icons joining forces to struggle onward through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that places them on the verge of greater success.

The release was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her collaborators. “It made it a more powerful album,” she says of the collaborative process. “It was challenging at first – There was a sense of a specific level of satisfaction as a female in music working independently. There have been multiple instances where after a show and some guy will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I wrote all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As their fame has increased, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. She was originally on path for a university studies in art before hesitating at the prospect of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply creativity,” she says. “Be it making masks, attire creation, mastering post-production music videos … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to figure it out as we go.”

As if creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, tapping her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the singer learned on her own how to create armor – a difficult task, though she admittedly entrusted her all-new scalemail look to a expert from NYC. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They loved the fake blood, soft weapons and handmade props with equal enthusiasm as the musicians. “We performed a show in the Motor City and it seemed like a medieval event,” recalls Riley with affection. “All attendees was in cloaks, animal hides, chainmail.”

However, this doesn’t mean, nevertheless, that touring existence as mythical wanderers has been plain sailing. “All our gear is constantly breaking and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I come up with countless concepts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a van with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a grand epic, then store it into minimal luggage.”

We faced additional practical issues that didn’t affect mythic characters. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my luggage – which had my blade in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “That was a nightmare, because there is no an backup plan of the concert where I don’t have a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is eager about the days to come. “I aim to reach to the top – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is keeping the handmade style, ensuring everything is handmade. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we scale to. Oh, and I desire to make an entrance on a unicorn each show. Think about how legends ride bikes on stage? The same idea, but using a unicorn.”