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Although plenty of rockers have drawn from epic fantasy, few have truly lived the mythical way of life. Sure, they might decorate their album sleeves with ghouls, imps, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but has any musician ever have to find a lost unicorn horn from a snowy field in the heart of winter? Did anyone taken the time squinting in the interior of a tour bus, fixing their own chainmail?

Embracing the Mythos

Created in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and additional ones as they act out their heroic dreams. Starting with medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy anthems to stunning concerts, outfit creation, visuals and record designs, they’re not just a rock act as a full immersive experience.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a themed musical group,” says singer, guitar player, sword-wielder and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van travels from a packed show in Cologne to another in Aschaffenburg – they have five gigs in the UK currently. “Initially, we performed twice and got booked on a spooky event, where I chose at the final moment to dress up. It was all super-DIY, but we had a blast and the atmosphere was electric. It occurred to me, ‘How about if we could have this much fun always?’”

Development of Castle Rat

After that, the group – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” joined by a pestilence physician (bassist), haughty vampire (six-string player) and enigmatic nature priest (rhythm keeper) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, evokes images of legendary heavy bands joining forces to battle their way through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that places them on the edge of far grander things.

This album was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her bandmates. “This helped a much better project,” she says of the collaborative process. “I had difficulty at first – I’d always felt a certain amount of pride as a woman in music going it alone. There have been multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and some guy will say, ‘The other members compose cool melodies!’ and I think, ‘Hey – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has grown, so has the scale of their visual elements. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. She was originally on track for a fine art degree before balking at the possibility of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to apply artistry,” she says. “Be it creating face coverings, outfit planning, mastering post-production clips … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to learn on the fly.”

Even though creating the group’s detailed mythology (“The team is pushing me to record it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and making clothing didn’t suffice, the vocalist learned on her own how to create armor – no mean feat, though she admittedly left her brand-new scale armor design to a expert from NYC. “It seems like actual armour,” she grins.

Fan Response and Obstacles

What about the crowd? They took to the theatrical gore, foam swords and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the band. “We played a concert in Detroit and it resembled a historical festival,” reminisces Riley with affection. “All attendees was in robes, wool garments, metal wear.”

This isn’t to say, however, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been plain sailing. “Each item is frequently damaged and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Plus I get endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we’re traveling in a bus with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a mythic tale, then pack it down into minimal luggage.”

We’ve encountered other logistical problems that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we performed at a music event in the European country and my baggage – which had my blade in it – got lost,” says Riley. “That was a worst-case scenario, because there is no an backup plan of the concert where I don’t have a sword.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is eager about the days to come. “I aim to reach to the top – let’s do huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, making sure everything is handmade. This is a feature I want to keep true to, whatever we scale to. Additionally, I wish to appear on a unicorn every night. You know how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? That, but with a unicorn.”