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Although numerous artists have taken inspiration from epic fantasy, few have genuinely embodied the mythical lifestyle. Sure, they may decorate their record jackets with monsters, goblins, captive women and brawny barbarians, but has any musician ever needed to find a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a frost-covered ground in the heart of winter? Has a performer devoted hours squinting in the interior of a road transport, mending their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have encountered such situations and others as they act out their epic fantasies. Starting with medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy tunes to eye-popping concerts, outfit creation, music videos and album art, they’re not just a heavy metal group as a full immersive experience.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a costumed concept band,” explains singer, guitarist, sword-wielder and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport speeds from a sold-out gig in a German city to one more in another town – they are playing several shows in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and got booked on a Halloween gig, where I chose at the final moment to put on an outfit. Everything was completely self-made, but we had a blast and the feeling in the room was unforgettable. It occurred to me, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

After that, the group – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” together with a medic from history (bass player), haughty vampire (guitarist) and secretive shaman (drummer) – never turned back. The new record, the band’s second album, evokes images of famous rock groups uniting to struggle onward through a heroic art landscape – a heroic opus that sets them on the brink of bigger achievements.

The release was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her collaborators. “This helped a much better project,” she says of the team effort. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a certain amount of satisfaction as a woman in music doing everything solo. There have been numerous occasions where after a show and some guy will say, ‘The band compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I composed all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As their fame has expanded, so has the scale of their visual elements. “The saying I live by is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. Initially, she was on path for a university studies in art before pulling back at the possibility of financial burden. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express artistry,” she says. “From making masks, outfit planning, mastering post-production clips … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to figure it out as we go.”

As if building the group’s detailed mythology (“The team is pushing me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, tapping her head) and stitching garments wasn’t enough, the vocalist taught herself how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly entrusted her completely original scale armor design to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she grins.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They embraced the fake blood, foam swords and crafted rodent bones with as much gusto as the musicians. “We played a concert in the Motor City and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” recalls Riley fondly. “All attendees was in capes, sheepskin, chainmail.”

However, this doesn’t mean, however, that traveling lifestyle as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “All our gear is always failing and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Moreover I get countless concepts as to how I desire the presentation, but we are on the move in a van with restricted capacity. It’s a unique problem to give the sense like a grand epic, then pack it down into a small space.”

We faced additional practical issues that would never have plagued mythic characters. “We experienced an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my suitcase – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “It was a nightmare, because we don’t have an backup plan of the performance where I am without a sword.”

Future Ambitions

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is enthusiastic about the what’s next. “My goal is to the top – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s deeply meaningful to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, making sure everything is crafted by us. That’s an element I want to keep true to, whatever we grow into. Plus, I desire to make an entrance on a mythical beast each show. Remember how famous musicians use vehicles in concerts? The same idea, but with a unicorn.”