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Although plenty of musicians have taken inspiration from high fantasy, few have fully embraced the enchanted lifestyle. Sure, they might decorate their album sleeves with creatures, imps, captive women and brawny barbarians, but has an artist ever needed to find a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Has a performer devoted hours squinting in the interior of a tour bus, repairing their own armor?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and additional ones as they act out their heroic dreams. From heraldic, memorable tunes to stunning performances, costume design, videos and record designs, they’re not just a metal band as a full immersive experience.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a outfit with characters,” explains vocalist, guitar player, sword-carrier and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle travels from a sold-out gig in a German city to a second one in another town – they are playing five gigs in the UK now. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a October show, where I chose at the final moment to put on an outfit. The entire setup was highly handmade, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was electric. I thought, ‘What if we could have this much fun always?’”

Development of Castle Rat

From that point on, the ensemble – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” alongside a plague doctor (low-end instrumentalist), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and secretive shaman (drummer) – never turned back. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, evokes images of famous rock groups uniting to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a grand composition that positions them on the edge of bigger achievements.

This album was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “That contributed to a much better record,” she says of the collaborative process. “It was challenging at first – I’d always felt a certain amount of accomplishment being a woman in music going it alone. I’ve had multiple instances where after a show and an audience member will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I wrote all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

With their growing popularity has grown, so has the breadth of their production design. “The saying I live by is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on course for a fine art degree before balking at the idea of heavy loans. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to apply creativity,” she says. “Be it making masks, attire creation, learning how to edit music videos … these are all things I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to figure it out in the moment.”

As if building the band’s intricate lore (“People are encouraging me to document it because everything is stored,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments wasn’t enough, the vocalist taught herself how to create armor – no mean feat, though she admittedly left her completely original scale armor design to a expert from NYC. “It seems like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They loved the stage blood, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the musicians. “We had a gig in Detroit and it looked like a historical festival,” remembers Riley with affection. “The whole crowd was in capes, wool garments, metal wear.”

This isn’t to say, though, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been plain sailing. “All our gear is frequently damaged and ends up duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have countless concepts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we’re traveling in a bus with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a mythic tale, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

We faced further organizational challenges that didn’t affect fictional warriors. “There was an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we performed at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my luggage – which had my weapon in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “That was a nightmare, because there’s not an different option of the concert where I lack a sword.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is eager about the future. “I want to go to the top – I dream of stadiums,” she says. “The key element that’s deeply meaningful to me is preserving the self-crafted look, ensuring everything is custom-made. This is a feature I want to stay authentic to, regardless of we achieve. Additionally, I wish to make an entrance on a unicorn each show. Remember how some artists use vehicles in concerts? The same idea, but with a unicorn.”