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Although many rockers have taken inspiration from fantasy lore, only a handful have truly lived the fantasy lifestyle. Certainly, they may adorn their album covers with monsters, imps, chained damsels and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever been forced to retrieve a lost horn from a unicorn from a snowy field in the depths of winter? Has anyone taken the time straining their eyes in the interior of a tour bus, mending their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Created in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have dealt with both these scenarios and more as they live out their epic fantasies. Starting with heraldic, earworm-heavy songs to eye-popping performances, attire styling, videos and record designs, they’re not so much a rock act as a total artistic immersion.

“It wasn’t planned to be a themed musical group,” states singer, guitar player, sword-wielder and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle speeds from a sold-out gig in Cologne to another in Aschaffenburg – they are playing five gigs in the UK now. “After a couple of performances and were scheduled on a Halloween gig, where I chose at the final moment to wear a costume. It was all completely self-made, but we had an amazing time and the energy was unforgettable. I realized, ‘How about if we could have so much excitement always?’”

Growth of the Group

After that, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” alongside a pestilence physician (bass player), haughty vampire (lead guitarist) and secretive shaman (rhythm keeper) – continued forward. The new record, the follow-up record, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands collaborating to struggle onward through a heroic art landscape – a grand composition that sets them on the verge of bigger achievements.

This album was a first for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “That contributed to a more powerful album,” she says of the team effort. “I had difficulty at first – There was a sense of a specific level of satisfaction as a female in music going it alone. There have been so many times where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Hey – I composed all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

With their growing popularity has expanded, so has the breadth of their production design. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. At first, she had been on course for a art school education before balking at the prospect of financial burden. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express artistry,” she says. “Be it creating face coverings, costume design, mastering post-production song visuals … everything is I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to learn on the fly.”

Even though building the band’s intricate lore (“Everyone’s urging me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and making clothing wasn’t enough, the singer taught herself how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly delegated her brand-new scale armor design to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she beams.

Fan Response and Obstacles

Regarding the fans? They took to the theatrical gore, soft weapons and handmade props with as much gusto as the group. “We played a gig in Detroit and it looked like a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley fondly. “The whole crowd was in capes, animal hides, armor.”

This isn’t to say, though, that life on the road as fantasy adventurers has been plain sailing. “Each item is constantly breaking and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we’re traveling in a van with restricted capacity. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a grand epic, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

We’ve encountered further organizational challenges that wouldn’t have troubled legendary fantasy heroes. “We experienced an ‘oh shit’ moment when we played a Portuguese festival in the European country and my luggage – which had my blade in it – went missing,” says Riley. “It was a nightmare, because there is no an alternative version of the performance where I don’t have a weapon.”

Goals Ahead

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is gung-ho about the what’s next. “I aim to reach all the way – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s deeply meaningful to me is maintaining the self-crafted look, ensuring each detail is custom-made. This is a feature I want to keep true to, regardless of we achieve. Additionally, I desire to appear on a magical horse each show. You know how some artists use vehicles in concerts? Exactly that, but on a mythical creature.”