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While many artists have drawn from fantasy lore, few have fully embraced the mythical lifestyle. Admittedly, they could embellish their record jackets with creatures, imps, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but did a member ever have to find a lost horn from a unicorn from a snowy field in the midst of winter? Did anyone taken the time straining their eyes in the rear of a road transport, fixing their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Established in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have dealt with both these scenarios and additional ones as they act out their heroic dreams. From heraldic, earworm-heavy songs to stunning concerts, outfit creation, videos and album art, they’re more than a rock act as a complete sensory journey.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” says singer, guitar player, blade-handler and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van travels from a full-capacity concert in a German city to one more in Aschaffenburg – they are playing multiple performances in the UK this week. “We played two shows and were scheduled on a Halloween gig, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was electric. I realized, ‘Imagine if we could have this much fun at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

Since then, the band – which features Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a plague doctor (bass player), haughty vampire (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (drummer) – continued forward. The Bestiary, the group’s sophomore release, evokes images of famous rock groups collaborating to struggle onward through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that places them on the edge of far grander things.

This album was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her bandmates. “It made it a much better record,” she says of the collaborative process. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a certain amount of accomplishment as a woman in music going it alone. There’ve been so many times where I finished performing and some guy will say, ‘The band compose cool melodies!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I created all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

With their growing popularity has grown, so has the scope of their visual elements. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. Initially, she was on path for a art school education before pulling back at the prospect of so much debt. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply artistic expression,” she says. “Be it crafting disguises, costume design, figuring out video editing song visuals … it’s all stuff I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to discover on the fly.”

As if building the group’s detailed mythology (“Everyone’s urging me to document it because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the singer self-educated how to craft metal mesh – no mean feat, though she confessedly left her brand-new scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

What about the crowd? They took to the theatrical gore, foam swords and crafted rodent bones with similar excitement as the musicians. “We performed a show in Detroit and it looked like a medieval event,” recalls Riley with affection. “All attendees was in cloaks, animal hides, chainmail.”

This isn’t to say, nevertheless, that life on the road as fantasy adventurers has been plain sailing. “All our gear is frequently damaged and ends up fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I’ll have numerous thoughts as to how I desire the presentation, but we’re traveling in a vehicle with limited room. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a grand epic, then pack it down into minimal luggage.”

We’ve encountered other logistical problems that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “We experienced an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we performed at a Portuguese festival in Portugal and my luggage – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “It was a terrible situation, because there is no an backup plan of the concert where I don’t have a sword.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is gung-ho about the what’s next. “I want to go as far as possible – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s deeply meaningful to me is keeping the self-crafted look, making sure each detail is handmade. That’s an element I want to remain faithful to, whatever we scale to. Oh, and I desire to ride out on a unicorn every night. Remember how legends do the motorcycle thing? That, but using a unicorn.”