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While many artists have taken inspiration from high fantasy, rarely any have truly lived the fantasy lifestyle. Sure, they might decorate their record jackets with ghouls, beasts, captive women and brawny barbarians, but has an artist ever needed to recover a lost unicorn horn from a wintry landscape in the midst of winter? Did a guitarist taken the time peering in the rear of a tour bus, mending their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Created in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have dealt with both these scenarios and more as they act out their epic fantasies. Starting with heraldic, earworm-heavy tunes to breathtaking concerts, attire styling, visuals and record designs, they’re not so much a rock act as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a costumed concept band,” explains vocalist, guitar player, sword-wielder and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle speeds from a packed show in a German city to one more in Aschaffenburg – they have five gigs in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a Halloween gig, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had an amazing time and the energy was unforgettable. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have such enjoyment every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

From that point on, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a plague doctor (bass player), haughty vampire (six-string player) and secretive shaman (drummer) – continued forward. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, brings to mind of famous rock groups joining forces to struggle onward through a heroic art landscape – a grand composition that positions them on the edge of bigger achievements.

The release was a first for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her fellow members. “It made it a lot stronger record,” she says of the collaborative process. “I had difficulty at first – I often experienced a particular degree of pride as a female in music working independently. There’ve been numerous occasions where I’ve got off stage and an audience member will say, ‘Those guys write great riffs!’ and I think, ‘Listen – I wrote all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As their fame has expanded, so has the breadth of their production design. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. At first, she had been on track for a art school education before pulling back at the possibility of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to apply creativity,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, outfit planning, figuring out video editing music videos … everything is I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to learn on the fly.”

Even though developing the group’s detailed mythology (“Everyone’s urging me to record it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, tapping her head) and stitching garments were insufficient, the vocalist taught herself how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly entrusted her completely original scale armor design to a expert from NYC. “It seems like actual armour,” she grins.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

Regarding the fans? They loved the stage blood, toy blades and handmade props with equal enthusiasm as the musicians. “We performed a show in the Motor City and it resembled a historical festival,” remembers Riley fondly. “Everyone was in capes, animal hides, metal wear.”

However, this doesn’t mean, nevertheless, that traveling lifestyle as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “Everything is constantly breaking and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Plus I get numerous thoughts as to how I desire the presentation, but we’re traveling in a bus with restricted capacity. It’s a unique problem to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

We faced further organizational challenges that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we appeared at SonicBlast festival in the European country and my luggage – which had my blade in it – went missing,” says Riley. “It was a worst-case scenario, because we don’t have an alternative version of the concert where I don’t have a blade.”

Goals Ahead

As a genuine leader, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “I aim to reach as far as possible – we should play large venues,” she says. “The only thing that’s truly essential to me is keeping the DIY aesthetic, ensuring everything is handmade. That’s an element I want to keep true to, regardless of we grow into. Additionally, I desire to ride out on a magical horse at all performances. Remember how legends use vehicles in concerts? Exactly that, but on a mythical creature.”