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Although many rockers have drawn from fantasy lore, rarely any have fully embraced the fantasy existence. Sure, they could adorn their album covers with creatures, beasts, captive women and strong fighters, but has an artist ever been forced to retrieve a missing mythical horn from a frost-covered ground in the heart of winter? Did a performer spent time squinting in the back of a tour bus, fixing their own armor?

Living the Fantasy

Formed in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have had to face such situations and additional ones as they act out their grand tales. Starting with heraldic, catchy tunes to stunning live shows, attire styling, videos and album art, they’re not so much a metal band as a complete sensory journey.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a outfit with characters,” says singer, guitarist, blade-handler and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle travels from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to one more in Aschaffenburg – they have five gigs in the UK currently. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a spooky event, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. It was all highly handmade, but we had a blast and the atmosphere was unforgettable. I realized, ‘Imagine if we could have this much fun always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

From that point on, the ensemble – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” alongside a plague doctor (bassist), haughty vampire (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – continued forward. The new record, the group’s sophomore release, brings to mind of famous rock groups collaborating to struggle onward through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that places them on the verge of bigger achievements.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “That contributed to a much better project,” she says of the team effort. “I had difficulty at first – I often experienced a particular degree of satisfaction being a woman in music going it alone. There have been multiple instances where after a show and some guy will say, ‘Those guys write great riffs!’ and I respond, ‘Hey – I created all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As their fame has expanded, so has the breadth of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. She was originally on path for a university studies in art before balking at the possibility of so much debt. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to express artistic expression,” she says. “Be it creating face coverings, attire creation, figuring out video editing clips … 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 (“People are encouraging me to record it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes wasn’t enough, the singer learned on her own how to make chainmail – a difficult task, though she admittedly entrusted her brand-new scalemail look to a New York-based specialist. “It feels like actual armour,” she beams.

Fan Response and Obstacles

As for audiences? They took to the theatrical gore, foam swords and handmade props with as much gusto as the band. “We had a concert in the Motor City and it seemed like a historical festival,” remembers Riley fondly. “Everyone was in capes, sheepskin, chainmail.”

That’s not to imply, though, that touring existence as fantasy adventurers has been easy. “Everything is constantly breaking and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I get numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s a unique problem to create the impression like a mythic tale, then compress it into nothing.”

We faced additional practical issues that didn’t affect mythic characters. “There was an ‘oh shit’ moment when we appeared at a music event in the European country and my luggage – which had my blade in it – went missing,” says Riley. “It was a terrible situation, because we don’t have an different option of the show where I don’t have a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is gung-ho about the future. “My goal is all the way – I dream of huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s deeply meaningful to me is maintaining the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing each detail is handmade. That’s an element I want to keep true to, whatever we scale to. Plus, I desire to make an entrance on a mythical beast at all performances. You know how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? Exactly that, but using a unicorn.”