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While plenty of musicians have drawn from high fantasy, only a handful have fully embraced the enchanted lifestyle. Admittedly, they may adorn their album covers with monsters, goblins, captive women and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever needed to recover a misplaced unicorn horn from a snowy field in the midst of winter? Did anyone taken the time squinting in the interior of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Formed in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and additional ones as they act out their heroic dreams. Starting with knightly, catchy anthems to breathtaking performances, costume design, videos and record designs, they’re not so much a metal band as a full immersive experience.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a themed musical group,” explains vocalist, guitar player, sword-wielder and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport drives from a packed show in a German city to one more in another town – they’re also doing five gigs in the UK currently. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a October show, where I made a last-minute decision to put on an outfit. The entire setup was super-DIY, but we had an amazing time and the atmosphere was incredible. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have this much fun always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

From that point on, the group – which features Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” alongside a medic from history (bass player), proud bloodsucker (six-string player) and mysterious druid (drummer) – continued forward. The new record, the band’s second album, brings to mind of famous rock groups joining forces to battle their way through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a epic masterpiece that places them on the verge of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her fellow members. “It made it a lot stronger record,” she says of the collaborative process. “I had difficulty at first – I’d always felt a certain amount of satisfaction as a woman in music working independently. I’ve had multiple instances where after a show and a person will say, ‘The other members create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I created all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As the band’s stature has increased, so has the scale of their production design. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on course for a university studies in art before pulling back at the prospect of financial burden. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to express creativity,” she says. “Whether it’s making masks, attire creation, learning how to edit music videos … these are all things I am unfamiliar with, but it’s enjoyable to learn in the moment.”

As if developing the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the vocalist taught herself how to make chainmail – a difficult task, though she admittedly left her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

Regarding the fans? They took to the fake blood, foam swords and handmade props with as much gusto as the group. “We played a show in the Motor City and it resembled a medieval event,” remembers Riley with affection. “Everyone was in robes, wool garments, metal wear.”

This isn’t to say, however, that life on the road as fantasy adventurers has been easy. “All our gear is frequently damaged and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Plus I’ll have numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we’re traveling in a van with limited room. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a mythic tale, then store it into nothing.”

We faced further organizational challenges that didn’t affect legendary fantasy heroes. “We experienced an ‘oh shit’ moment when we played a Portuguese festival in Portugal and my luggage – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “That was a nightmare, because there’s not an alternative version of the show where I don’t have a sword.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is eager about the future. “My goal is as far as possible – we should play stadiums,” she says. “The key element that’s deeply meaningful to me is preserving the handmade style, guaranteeing everything is custom-made. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we scale to. Additionally, I wish to ride out on a mythical beast at all performances. Think about how legends do the motorcycle thing? The same idea, but with a unicorn.”