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Although plenty of artists have taken inspiration from epic fantasy, only a handful have genuinely embodied the mythical existence. Certainly, they may adorn their album sleeves with monsters, goblins, manacled maidens and strong fighters, but has an artist ever been forced to retrieve a missing mythical horn from a snowy field in the heart of winter? Did a guitarist taken the time squinting in the interior of a road transport, fixing their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and more as they act out their grand tales. From knightly, memorable tunes to stunning live shows, attire styling, music videos and cover artwork, they’re more than a rock act as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” explains vocalist, guitarist, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle travels from a packed show in Cologne to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they’re also doing multiple performances in the UK currently. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a Halloween gig, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. The entire setup was highly handmade, but we had so much fun and the energy was incredible. I realized, ‘How about if we could have this much fun every time?’”

The Band’s Evolution

Since then, the band – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” alongside a plague doctor (bassist), haughty vampire (guitarist) and secretive shaman (drummer) – continued forward. The new record, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of famous rock groups uniting to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a epic masterpiece that sets them on the brink of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her fellow members. “That contributed to a much better project,” she says of the group work. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a certain amount of satisfaction as a woman in music doing everything solo. I’ve had so many times where I finished performing and an audience member will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the scope of their production design. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on course for a university studies in art before pulling back at the possibility of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply creativity,” she says. “Be it creating face coverings, outfit planning, learning how to edit music videos … these are all things I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to figure it out on the fly.”

Even though creating the group’s detailed mythology (“The team is pushing me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, tapping her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the singer self-educated how to make chainmail – no mean feat, though she confessedly entrusted her brand-new scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Fan Response and Obstacles

What about the crowd? They embraced the theatrical gore, toy blades and handmade props with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We performed a concert in Detroit and it seemed like a historical festival,” remembers Riley happily. “The whole crowd was in robes, animal hides, metal wear.”

That’s not to imply, nevertheless, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “All our gear is frequently damaged and gets duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we’re traveling in a vehicle with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to give the sense like a larger-than-life story, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

We’ve encountered further organizational challenges that would never have plagued mythic characters. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we appeared at SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my baggage – which had my blade in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “This became a worst-case scenario, because there is no an alternative version of the performance where I don’t have a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is eager about the days to come. “I aim to reach all the way – let’s do huge arenas,” she says. “The key element that’s really important to me is maintaining the handmade style, ensuring each detail is handmade. It’s a component I want to keep true to, whatever we scale to. Additionally, I want to appear on a unicorn at all performances. Think about how some artists do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”