🔗 Share this article

While numerous musicians have taken inspiration from high fantasy, only a handful have genuinely embodied the enchanted lifestyle. Sure, they could embellish their record jackets with monsters, goblins, captive women and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever needed to recover a missing unicorn horn from a snowy field in the midst of winter? Has a performer spent time squinting in the back of a traveling vehicle, fixing their own metal mesh?

Living the Fantasy

Established in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and others as they embody their heroic dreams. From knightly, memorable songs to stunning performances, attire styling, visuals and record designs, they’re more than a rock act as a total artistic immersion.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” states vocalist, guitarist, sword-wielder and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van travels from a sold-out gig in Cologne to another in Aschaffenburg – they have several shows in the UK currently. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a Halloween gig, where I decided spontaneously to wear a costume. The entire setup was super-DIY, but we had an amazing time and the atmosphere was incredible. I thought, ‘What if we could have so much excitement always?’”

Growth of the Group

After that, the group – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” alongside a pestilence physician (bassist), haughty vampire (six-string player) and mysterious druid (drummer) – haven’t looked back. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, brings to mind of classic metal icons collaborating to struggle onward through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a epic masterpiece that sets them on the edge of bigger achievements.

The release was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her bandmates. “That contributed to a lot stronger project,” she says of the group work. “I struggled at first – There was a sense of a particular degree of accomplishment as a woman in music doing everything solo. There have been numerous occasions where after a show and some guy will say, ‘The other members create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I wrote all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As their fame has increased, so has the scope of their production design. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. Initially, she was on track for a university studies in art before balking at the idea of heavy loans. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to apply artistic expression,” she says. “Be it crafting disguises, outfit planning, figuring out video editing song visuals … these are all things I am unfamiliar with, but it’s exciting to learn on the fly.”

As if creating the band’s intricate lore (“The team is pushing me to write it down because all the ideas are,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and sewing costumes were insufficient, the singer taught herself how to craft metal mesh – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly left her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a professional in the city. “It feels like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They embraced the fake blood, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with equal enthusiasm as the band. “We played a gig in the Motor City and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley fondly. “The whole crowd was in cloaks, animal hides, metal wear.”

This isn’t to say, though, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “All our gear is frequently damaged and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Moreover I’ll have endless ideas as to how I desire the presentation, but we tour in a bus with limited room. It’s a unique problem to create the impression like a grand epic, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

We faced further organizational challenges that wouldn’t have troubled fictional warriors. “We experienced an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my baggage – which had my weapon in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “It was a nightmare, because there’s not an alternative version of the performance where I lack a blade.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is enthusiastic about the days to come. “I want to go all the way – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, making sure all elements is crafted by us. That’s an element I want to keep true to, regardless of we achieve. Plus, I want to appear on a unicorn every night. Think about how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? The same idea, but using a unicorn.”