🔗 Share this article

While plenty of rockers have borrowed from high fantasy, only a handful have truly lived the enchanted lifestyle. Admittedly, they may decorate their album sleeves with ghouls, beasts, captive women and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever needed to retrieve a misplaced unicorn horn from a wintry landscape in the midst of winter? Has a performer spent time straining their eyes in the rear of a traveling vehicle, mending their own armor?

Embracing the Mythos

Formed in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and others as they live out their grand tales. Starting with medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy anthems to breathtaking performances, outfit creation, visuals and album art, they’re not so much a rock act as a total artistic immersion.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” states singer, guitar player, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle drives from a sold-out gig in a German city to a second one in another town – they have multiple performances in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a spooky event, where I chose at the final moment to put on an outfit. Everything was completely self-made, but we had an amazing time and the feeling in the room was unforgettable. It occurred to me, ‘How about if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the ensemble – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” alongside a pestilence physician (low-end instrumentalist), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – haven’t looked back. The new record, the band’s second album, conjures visions of famous rock groups uniting to struggle onward through a heroic art landscape – a epic masterpiece that places them on the verge of greater success.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her bandmates. “This helped a much better album,” she says of the group work. “It was challenging at first – I’d always felt a specific level of pride as a female in music going it alone. There have been numerous occasions where I’ve got off stage and some guy will say, ‘Those guys create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

With their growing popularity has increased, so has the breadth of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. Initially, she was on track for a university studies in art before balking at the idea of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s making masks, outfit planning, learning how to edit clips … everything is I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to figure it out on the fly.”

As if creating the group’s detailed mythology (“Everyone’s urging me to document it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the singer taught herself how to craft metal mesh – a difficult task, though she confessedly delegated her completely original scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It seems like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They embraced the theatrical gore, toy blades and crafted rodent bones with as much gusto as the group. “We played a gig in Detroit and it resembled a historical festival,” remembers Riley fondly. “The whole crowd was in capes, animal hides, metal wear.”

However, this doesn’t mean, however, that touring existence as mythical wanderers has been plain sailing. “Everything is always failing and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I get endless ideas as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we tour in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to make it feel like a grand epic, then compress it into nothing.”

We’ve encountered further organizational challenges that wouldn’t have troubled fictional warriors. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played a Portuguese festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my blade in it – got lost,” says Riley. “This became a terrible situation, because there is no an backup plan of the concert where I lack a blade.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is gung-ho about the what’s next. “My goal is all the way – we should play large venues,” she says. “The key element that’s really important to me is preserving the handmade style, ensuring all elements is custom-made. It’s a component I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we achieve. Additionally, I desire to make an entrance on a mythical beast every night. Remember how some artists ride bikes on stage? The same idea, but using a unicorn.”