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Although many artists have borrowed from fantasy lore, only a handful have genuinely embodied the fantasy existence. Admittedly, they may embellish their record jackets with ghouls, imps, chained damsels and muscular warriors, but has any musician ever have to recover a missing horn from a unicorn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Did a guitarist devoted hours squinting in the rear of a road transport, mending their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Created in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and additional ones as they act out their grand tales. From knightly, earworm-heavy anthems to breathtaking concerts, costume design, videos and album art, they’re more than a rock act as a complete sensory journey.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a outfit with characters,” states singer, guitar player, sword-wielder and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport travels from a packed show in Cologne to another in another town – they’re also doing multiple performances in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a Halloween gig, where I decided spontaneously to wear a costume. Everything was super-DIY, but we had so much fun and the atmosphere was electric. I thought, ‘How about if we could have so much excitement always?’”

Development of Castle Rat

Since then, the group – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” joined by a plague doctor (bassist), haughty vampire (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (rhythm keeper) – continued forward. Their latest album, the band’s second album, conjures visions of famous rock groups collaborating to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that places them on the brink of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a first for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her collaborators. “This helped a much better project,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – I’d always felt a particular degree of pride as a female in music working independently. There’ve been numerous occasions where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I created all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As their fame has expanded, so has the scope of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on track for a fine art degree before pulling back at the prospect of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to express creativity,” she says. “From crafting disguises, attire creation, figuring out video editing music videos … these are all things I have no experience with, but it’s enjoyable to discover on the fly.”

As if building the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the singer self-educated how to create armor – no mean feat, though she confessedly left her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a expert from NYC. “It seems like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Fan Response and Obstacles

What about the crowd? They took to the theatrical gore, soft weapons and handmade props with similar excitement as the group. “We performed a concert in the Motor City and it resembled a historical festival,” recalls Riley with affection. “Everyone was in robes, wool garments, armor.”

However, this doesn’t mean, however, that traveling lifestyle as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “Everything is frequently damaged and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I come up with countless concepts as to how I want things to look, but we are on the move in a bus with limited room. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a mythic tale, then store it into nothing.”

We faced additional practical issues that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “We experienced an ‘disastrous’ moment when we appeared at SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my baggage – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because we don’t have an alternative version of the performance where I am without a sword.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is enthusiastic about the future. “My goal is to the top – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The key element that’s really important to me is maintaining the DIY aesthetic, making sure all elements is crafted by us. That’s an element I want to keep true to, regardless of we grow into. Oh, and I want to ride out on a magical horse every night. You know how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? That, but with a unicorn.”