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Although numerous musicians have taken inspiration from high fantasy, few have genuinely embodied the enchanted lifestyle. Admittedly, they could decorate their record jackets with ghouls, beasts, chained damsels and muscular warriors, but did a member ever needed to recover a missing mythical horn from a wintry landscape in the midst of winter? Has anyone taken the time squinting in the rear of a road transport, fixing their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have encountered these exact challenges and others as they act out their grand tales. From medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy tunes to breathtaking performances, costume design, visuals and album art, they’re not just a rock act as a total artistic immersion.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a outfit with characters,” says singer, guitarist, blade-handler and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport travels from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to a second one in another town – they’re also doing several shows in the UK currently. “After a couple of performances and were scheduled on a spooky event, where I chose at the final moment to put on an outfit. The entire setup was highly handmade, but we had an amazing time and the feeling in the room was incredible. It occurred to me, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

The Band’s Evolution

Since then, the band – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” joined by a medic from history (bassist), haughty vampire (lead guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (drummer) – never turned back. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of classic metal icons uniting to fight their path through a heroic art landscape – a grand composition that places them on the brink of far grander things.

This album was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her bandmates. “That contributed to a much better record,” she says of the collaborative process. “It was challenging at first – I’d always felt a specific level of pride as a woman in music working independently. I’ve had numerous occasions where after a show and some guy will say, ‘The other members compose cool melodies!’ and I think, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As the band’s stature has increased, so has the scope of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. At first, she had been on course for a fine art degree before pulling back at the possibility of heavy loans. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to apply artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, attire creation, learning how to edit song visuals … it’s all stuff I am unfamiliar with, but it’s enjoyable to figure it out in the moment.”

Even though developing the group’s detailed mythology (“People are encouraging me to document it because everything is stored,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and making clothing didn’t suffice, the vocalist self-educated how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly delegated her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a expert from NYC. “It seems like actual armour,” she grins.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They took to the stage blood, toy blades and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the musicians. “We played a show in Detroit and it resembled a historical festival,” reminisces Riley fondly. “Everyone was in capes, sheepskin, metal wear.”

That’s not to imply, nevertheless, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “Each item is always failing and gets fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Moreover I come up with countless concepts as to how I desire the presentation, but we tour in a van with limited room. It’s an interesting challenge to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then compress it into a small space.”

We faced other logistical problems that didn’t affect mythic characters. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we appeared at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my baggage – which had my weapon in it – got lost,” says Riley. “This became a worst-case scenario, because there’s not an different option of the show where I don’t have a blade.”

Goals Ahead

As a genuine leader, Riley is enthusiastic about the days to come. “I want to go all the way – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is maintaining the self-crafted look, ensuring each detail is handmade. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, whatever we grow into. Plus, I wish to ride out on a unicorn each show. You know how legends do the motorcycle thing? The same idea, but with a unicorn.”