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Although plenty of musicians have taken inspiration from high fantasy, rarely any have truly lived the fantasy existence. Sure, they could adorn their album covers with ghouls, goblins, captive women and muscular warriors, but did a member ever been forced to recover a missing mythical horn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Has anyone devoted hours straining their eyes in the rear of a road transport, repairing their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Established in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have encountered such situations and others as they embody their grand tales. From heraldic, memorable songs to eye-popping performances, attire styling, visuals and album art, they’re more than a heavy metal group as a complete sensory journey.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” says singer, guitarist, blade-handler and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van travels from a sold-out gig in a German city to another in another town – they are playing five gigs in the UK currently. “Initially, we performed twice and got booked on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. Everything was super-DIY, but we had an amazing time and the energy was unforgettable. I realized, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement every time?’”

Growth of the Group

After that, the ensemble – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” alongside a medic from history (low-end instrumentalist), haughty vampire (lead guitarist) and secretive shaman (percussionist) – haven’t looked back. The new record, the group’s sophomore release, brings to mind of famous rock groups collaborating to battle their way through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a grand composition that sets them on the edge of far grander things.

The release was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “This helped a lot stronger project,” she says of the team effort. “I struggled at first – I often experienced a particular degree of pride being a woman in music doing everything solo. There have been numerous occasions where I’ve got off stage and some guy will say, ‘The band compose cool melodies!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I wrote all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the breadth of their production design. “My motto is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on path for a university studies in art before hesitating at the possibility of so much debt. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply creativity,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, outfit planning, mastering post-production music videos … these are all things I have no experience with, 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 write it down because all the ideas are,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the vocalist self-educated how to make chainmail – a difficult task, though she confessedly delegated her brand-new scale armor design to a professional in the city. “It seems like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They embraced the fake blood, toy blades and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the musicians. “We played a concert in the Motor City and it looked like a medieval event,” remembers Riley with affection. “Everyone was in cloaks, sheepskin, armor.”

However, this doesn’t mean, nevertheless, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “Each item is constantly breaking and gets repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally 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 fascinating test to give the sense like a larger-than-life story, then store it into minimal luggage.”

There have been other logistical problems that would never have plagued legendary fantasy heroes. “There was an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we appeared at a music event in Portugal and my suitcase – which had my weapon in it – got lost,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because we don’t have an alternative version of the show where I lack a weapon.”

Goals Ahead

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “My goal is to the top – let’s do huge arenas,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is preserving the self-crafted look, making sure everything is crafted by us. This is a feature I want to keep true to, regardless of we achieve. Plus, I desire to make an entrance on a magical horse every night. Think about how legends do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but using a unicorn.”