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While numerous musicians have borrowed from epic fantasy, rarely any have truly lived the fantasy lifestyle. Certainly, they may adorn their album covers with creatures, beasts, captive women and strong fighters, but did a member ever have to retrieve a misplaced unicorn horn from a snowy field in the heart of winter? Did anyone devoted hours squinting in the rear of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Formed in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have dealt with both these scenarios and more as they act out their grand tales. Starting with heraldic, memorable songs to eye-popping live shows, costume design, music videos and record designs, they’re more than a metal band as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a outfit with characters,” says vocalist, guitar player, blade-handler and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle drives from a packed show in Cologne to another in another town – they are playing several shows in the UK now. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a spooky event, where I decided spontaneously to put on an outfit. The entire setup was super-DIY, but we had a blast and the atmosphere was unforgettable. It occurred to me, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

From that point on, the ensemble – which includes Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” joined by a pestilence physician (bass player), haughty vampire (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – continued forward. The new record, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands collaborating to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a grand composition that sets them on the edge of greater success.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her collaborators. “This helped a more powerful album,” she says of the collaborative process. “It was challenging at first – I often experienced a specific level of accomplishment as a woman in music going it alone. There’ve been multiple instances where after a show and a person will say, ‘The band write great riffs!’ and I’m like, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As the band’s stature has increased, so has the scope of their production design. “My motto is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. At first, she had been on track for a fine art degree before pulling back at the idea of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, outfit planning, figuring out video editing song visuals … these are all things I am unfamiliar with, but it’s enjoyable to discover as we go.”

As if building the band’s intricate lore (“People are encouraging me to write it down because everything is stored,” Riley says, tapping her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the singer learned on her own how to craft metal mesh – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly entrusted her all-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a New York-based specialist. “It seems like actual armour,” she grins.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They took to the fake blood, toy blades and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We played a show in Detroit and it looked like a medieval event,” recalls Riley happily. “The whole crowd was in robes, sheepskin, armor.”

That’s not to imply, though, that traveling lifestyle as fantasy adventurers has been smooth. “All our gear is always failing and gets fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have numerous thoughts as to how I desire the presentation, but we’re traveling in a van with restricted capacity. It’s a unique problem to give the sense like a mythic tale, then pack it down into a small space.”

There have been additional practical issues that didn’t affect fictional warriors. “There was an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my blade in it – went missing,” says Riley. “It was a nightmare, because there is no an different option of the show where I don’t have a weapon.”

Future Ambitions

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is gung-ho about the future. “I want to go all the way – let’s do large venues,” she says. “The only thing that’s deeply meaningful to me is maintaining the DIY aesthetic, making sure everything is crafted by us. This is a feature I want to stay authentic to, no matter what we scale to. Plus, I want to ride out on a magical horse every night. Remember how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but on a mythical creature.”