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Although plenty of artists have taken inspiration from fantasy lore, few have fully embraced the fantasy way of life. Admittedly, they might embellish their album sleeves with monsters, beasts, manacled maidens and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever been forced to retrieve a misplaced mythical horn from a snowy field in the midst of winter? Has a guitarist devoted hours straining their eyes in the rear of a road transport, fixing their own metal mesh?

Embracing the Mythos

Established in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and others as they live out their grand tales. Starting with heraldic, catchy tunes to stunning performances, outfit creation, visuals and album art, they’re not so much a rock act as a total artistic immersion.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” explains singer, guitar player, sword-wielder and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport speeds from a packed show in Cologne to a second one in another town – they have five gigs in the UK now. “We played two shows and got booked on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. The entire setup was highly handmade, but we had an amazing time and the atmosphere was incredible. It occurred to me, ‘How about if we could have this much fun always?’”

Development of Castle Rat

Since then, the group – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” joined by a plague doctor (bass player), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and secretive shaman (drummer) – continued forward. The new record, the group’s sophomore release, brings to mind of famous rock groups collaborating to battle their way through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that positions them on the edge of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a first for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her bandmates. “That contributed to a more powerful album,” she says of the team effort. “I had difficulty at first – I often experienced a particular degree of satisfaction being a woman in music going it alone. I’ve had multiple instances where I finished performing and an audience member will say, ‘The other members create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Wait – I wrote all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As their fame has expanded, so has the scope of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on course for a university studies in art before balking at the idea of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s making masks, attire creation, learning how to edit clips … it’s all stuff I am unfamiliar with, but it’s enjoyable to discover as we go.”

As if building the ensemble’s complex backstory (“People are encouraging me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and stitching garments wasn’t enough, the vocalist learned on her own how to make chainmail – no mean feat, though she confessedly delegated her all-new scalemail look to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They embraced the theatrical gore, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with as much gusto as the band. “We had a gig in Detroit and it resembled a historical festival,” remembers Riley happily. “The whole crowd was in cloaks, sheepskin, chainmail.”

This isn’t to say, though, that touring existence as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “Everything is frequently damaged and ends up duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Moreover I come up with countless concepts as to how I desire the presentation, but we tour in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

We faced further organizational challenges that didn’t affect mythic characters. “We did have an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my luggage – which had my blade in it – got lost,” says Riley. “This became a terrible situation, because there is no an different option 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. “My goal is all the way – we should play large venues,” she says. “The key element that’s really important to me is keeping the handmade style, making sure each detail is handmade. It’s a component I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we scale to. Plus, I desire to make an entrance on a unicorn at all performances. You know how some artists use vehicles in concerts? The same idea, but with a unicorn.”