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While numerous musicians have taken inspiration from high fantasy, only a handful have truly lived the enchanted lifestyle. Admittedly, they may decorate their record jackets with creatures, imps, captive women and muscular warriors, but has any musician ever have to find a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a wintry landscape in the depths of winter? Has a performer devoted hours squinting in the interior of a traveling vehicle, repairing their own metal mesh?

Embracing the Mythos

Established in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and others as they act out their grand tales. Starting with medieval-inspired, catchy anthems to stunning concerts, attire styling, videos and album art, they’re not so much a rock act as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a themed musical group,” states singer, guitarist, blade-handler and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle travels from a packed show in Cologne to one more in another town – they are playing multiple performances in the UK currently. “We played two shows and got booked on a October show, where I decided spontaneously to wear a costume. Everything was super-DIY, but we had a blast and the atmosphere was incredible. I realized, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

From that point on, the band – which features Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” together with a pestilence physician (bassist), aristocratic undead (lead guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – continued forward. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, evokes images of famous rock groups collaborating to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a grand composition that positions them on the brink of greater success.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “It made it a much better record,” she says of the team effort. “It was challenging at first – I’d always felt a particular degree of accomplishment as a woman in music doing everything solo. There have been numerous occasions where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘The band compose cool melodies!’ and I think, ‘Hey – I wrote all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As the band’s stature has grown, so has the breadth of their visual elements. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on track for a university studies in art before balking at the prospect of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to demonstrate creativity,” she says. “From creating face coverings, costume design, figuring out video editing song visuals … it’s all stuff I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to figure it out as we go.”

Even though creating the band’s intricate lore (“People are encouraging me to document it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and sewing costumes were insufficient, the vocalist taught herself how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly left her completely original reptilian-inspired outfit to a expert from NYC. “It seems like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They embraced the fake blood, soft weapons and papier-mache rat skulls with as much gusto as the group. “We performed a concert in Detroit and it seemed like a Renaissance fair,” recalls Riley happily. “The whole crowd was in capes, sheepskin, armor.”

This isn’t to say, however, that life on the road as mythical wanderers has been plain sailing. “Each item is frequently damaged and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Moreover I come up with countless concepts as to how I want things to look, but we tour in a van with only so much space. It’s a unique problem to give the sense like a mythic tale, then store it into minimal luggage.”

There have been other logistical problems that didn’t affect legendary fantasy heroes. “We did have an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played a music event in the European country and my suitcase – which had my blade in it – got lost,” says Riley. “This became a worst-case scenario, because we don’t have an backup plan of the performance where I lack a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “My goal is to the top – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The only thing that’s truly essential to me is keeping the handmade style, ensuring everything is custom-made. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we achieve. Plus, I desire to ride out on a mythical beast each show. Think about how legends use vehicles in concerts? That, but with a unicorn.”