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Although plenty of artists have borrowed from fantasy lore, few have truly lived the fantasy lifestyle. Admittedly, they could embellish their album covers with monsters, beasts, chained damsels and muscular warriors, but has any musician ever been forced to find a lost unicorn horn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Has a guitarist spent time squinting in the back of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own metal mesh?

Living the Fantasy

Established in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and additional ones as they live out their epic fantasies. From heraldic, earworm-heavy tunes to eye-popping live shows, costume design, music videos and record designs, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a full immersive experience.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” says vocalist, guitar player, sword-wielder and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a sold-out gig in a German city to another in Aschaffenburg – they are playing five gigs in the UK currently. “We played two shows and received an offer on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. The entire setup was super-DIY, but we had so much fun and the energy was electric. It occurred to me, ‘What if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

After that, the band – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” together with a plague doctor (low-end instrumentalist), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (percussionist) – continued forward. The new record, the band’s second album, brings to mind of legendary heavy bands joining forces to struggle onward through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that sets them on the verge of greater success.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her collaborators. “It made it a lot stronger record,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – There was a sense of a specific level of pride as a woman in music doing everything solo. There’ve been numerous occasions where after a show and a person will say, ‘Those guys create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As their fame has increased, so has the scale of their visual elements. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. At first, she had been on track for a art school education before balking at the idea of so much debt. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to apply artistic expression,” she says. “Be it crafting disguises, costume design, learning how to edit song visuals … these are all things I am unfamiliar with, but it’s exciting to figure it out as we go.”

As if building the band’s intricate lore (“Everyone’s urging me to write it down because everything is stored,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments were insufficient, the singer taught herself how to create armor – no mean feat, though she admittedly entrusted her brand-new scale armor design to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she grins.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They loved the theatrical gore, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with similar excitement as the musicians. “We played a gig in the Motor City and it looked like a historical festival,” remembers Riley with affection. “Everyone was in robes, wool garments, metal wear.”

That’s not to imply, though, that life on the road as mythical wanderers has been smooth. “All our gear is always failing and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Additionally I come up with endless ideas as to how I desire the presentation, but we tour in a van with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a mythic tale, then store it into minimal luggage.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that would never have plagued mythic characters. “We experienced an ‘oh shit’ moment when we performed at a music event in Portugal and my baggage – which had my weapon in it – went missing,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because we don’t have an different option of the show where I am without a blade.”

Goals Ahead

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is enthusiastic about the future. “My goal is as far as possible – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s truly essential to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, making sure each detail is custom-made. It’s a component I want to keep true to, regardless of we scale to. Plus, I want to ride out on a mythical beast at all performances. Think about how legends use vehicles in concerts? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”