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While numerous rockers have taken inspiration from high fantasy, rarely any have fully embraced the enchanted way of life. Certainly, they may decorate their album covers with ghouls, goblins, captive women and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever been forced to retrieve a missing mythical horn from a snowy field in the heart of winter? Has a performer devoted hours squinting in the interior of a road transport, mending their own metal mesh?

Embracing the Mythos

Established in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and others as they live out their epic fantasies. From medieval-inspired, memorable songs to stunning live shows, costume design, music videos and album art, they’re more than a rock act as a full immersive experience.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” states singer, guitar player, sword-wielder and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport drives from a packed show in a German city to a second one in another town – they have five gigs in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a October show, where I chose at the final moment to dress up. It was all super-DIY, but we had a blast and the atmosphere was incredible. I thought, ‘How about if we could have such enjoyment at every show?’”

Development of Castle Rat

Since then, the band – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” alongside a plague doctor (bass player), haughty vampire (six-string player) and enigmatic nature priest (drummer) – haven’t looked back. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, evokes images of famous rock groups joining forces to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a grand composition that sets them on the edge of bigger achievements.

This album was a first for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her fellow members. “That contributed to a much better project,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – There was a sense of a particular degree of pride being a woman in music working independently. There’ve been numerous occasions where after a show and some guy will say, ‘Those guys write great riffs!’ and I think, ‘Hey – I wrote all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As their fame has grown, so has the breadth of their visual elements. “The saying I live by is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on track for a university studies in art before pulling back at the possibility of so much debt. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to apply artistic expression,” she says. “Be it creating face coverings, costume design, mastering post-production clips … it’s all stuff I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to discover as we go.”

Even though creating the band’s intricate lore (“People are encouraging me to document it because everything is stored,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the vocalist learned on her own how to create armor – no mean feat, though she confessedly delegated her completely original scale armor design to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Fan Response and Obstacles

What about the crowd? They loved the stage blood, foam swords and handmade props with as much gusto as the musicians. “We had a concert in the Motor City and it seemed like a medieval event,” reminisces Riley happily. “All attendees 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 constantly breaking and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we’re traveling in a bus with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

We faced other logistical problems that wouldn’t have troubled legendary fantasy heroes. “We experienced an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at a Portuguese festival in Portugal and my baggage – which had my blade in it – got lost,” says Riley. “It was a nightmare, because there’s not an backup plan of the show where I lack a sword.”

Future Ambitions

As a genuine leader, Riley is enthusiastic about the future. “I aim to reach to the top – we should play large venues,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, ensuring all elements is custom-made. That’s an element I want to keep true to, no matter what we grow into. Additionally, I desire to ride out on a mythical beast each show. Think about how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? That, but on a mythical creature.”