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Although numerous artists have taken inspiration from high fantasy, only a handful have genuinely embodied the enchanted existence. Certainly, they could adorn their album covers with creatures, goblins, chained damsels and brawny barbarians, but has an artist ever been forced to find a lost horn from a unicorn from a wintry landscape in the depths of winter? Has a guitarist spent time peering in the back of a traveling vehicle, mending their own metal mesh?

Embracing the Mythos

Created in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and more as they live out their heroic dreams. Starting with medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy anthems to breathtaking performances, attire styling, videos and record designs, they’re not just a rock act as a full immersive experience.

“It wasn’t planned to be a costumed concept band,” states singer, guitarist, sword-wielder and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van travels from a full-capacity concert in a German city to another in Aschaffenburg – they have multiple performances in the UK currently. “We played two shows and got booked on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to put on an outfit. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had a blast and the atmosphere was incredible. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have such enjoyment at every show?’”

Development of Castle Rat

After that, the group – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” alongside a medic from history (bass player), proud bloodsucker (six-string player) and enigmatic nature priest (drummer) – continued forward. Their latest album, the follow-up record, conjures visions of famous rock groups uniting to fight their path through a heroic art landscape – a heroic opus that places them on the edge of far grander things.

The release was a first for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her bandmates. “This helped a lot stronger record,” she says of the collaborative process. “I had difficulty at first – There was a sense of a certain amount of satisfaction being a woman in music doing everything solo. There have been multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘Those guys create awesome guitar parts!’ and I think, ‘Wait – I composed all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has grown, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. She was originally on track for a art school education before hesitating at the prospect of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to express artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, outfit planning, learning how to edit clips … everything is I am unfamiliar with, but it’s enjoyable to figure it out on the fly.”

As if building the ensemble’s complex backstory (“People are encouraging me to record it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments were insufficient, the singer learned on her own how to create armor – no mean feat, though she confessedly entrusted her all-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a expert from NYC. “It feels like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Fan Response and Obstacles

As for audiences? They loved the stage blood, soft weapons and papier-mache rat skulls with equal enthusiasm as the band. “We had a concert in the Motor City and it looked like a medieval event,” reminisces Riley happily. “Everyone was in robes, animal hides, metal wear.”

This isn’t to say, however, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “All our gear is frequently damaged and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Plus I get countless concepts as to how I want things to look, but we are on the move in a van with restricted capacity. It’s a unique problem to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into nothing.”

We’ve encountered further organizational challenges that would never have plagued mythic characters. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played a music event in Portugal and my luggage – which had my blade in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “That was a nightmare, because there’s not an different option of the performance where I lack a weapon.”

Goals Ahead

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is eager about the future. “I want to go all the way – let’s do stadiums,” she says. “The key element that’s deeply meaningful to me is preserving the self-crafted look, guaranteeing all elements is handmade. This is a feature I want to stay authentic to, no matter what we grow into. Oh, and I wish to ride out on a unicorn at all performances. Remember how legends use vehicles in concerts? Exactly that, but on a mythical creature.”