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While many rockers have drawn from epic fantasy, only a handful have genuinely embodied the fantasy existence. Sure, they might decorate their album sleeves with creatures, beasts, captive women and strong fighters, but has an artist ever been forced to find a misplaced unicorn horn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Did a guitarist devoted hours peering in the interior of a tour bus, mending their own armor?

Embracing the Mythos

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and additional ones as they live out their grand tales. Starting with knightly, memorable songs to stunning live shows, attire styling, videos and album art, they’re not just a rock act as a full immersive experience.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” says vocalist, guitar player, sword-wielder and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle travels from a packed show in a German city to another in Aschaffenburg – they are playing multiple performances in the UK now. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. Everything was super-DIY, but we had a blast and the energy was incredible. I thought, ‘What if we could have such enjoyment at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

After that, the band – which includes Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a plague doctor (bass player), proud bloodsucker (six-string player) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – never turned back. The new record, the follow-up record, brings to mind of famous rock groups joining forces to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that positions them on the edge of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she welcomed contributions to her bandmates. “It made it a lot stronger album,” she says of the collaborative process. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a specific level of pride as a woman in music working independently. There have been multiple instances where I finished performing and an audience member will say, ‘The other members compose cool melodies!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As their fame has expanded, so has the scope of their production design. “My philosophy is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on track for a art school education before pulling back at the possibility of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to express artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s creating face coverings, attire creation, mastering post-production music videos … these are all things I have no experience with, but it’s exciting to discover as we go.”

As if building the group’s detailed mythology (“Everyone’s urging me to document it because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and making clothing didn’t suffice, the singer taught herself how to craft metal mesh – a difficult task, though she confessedly entrusted her brand-new scale armor design to a professional in the city. “It seems like actual armour,” she beams.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

Regarding the fans? They loved the fake blood, foam swords and crafted rodent bones with similar excitement as the band. “We had a show in Detroit and it resembled a historical festival,” reminisces Riley fondly. “Everyone was in capes, sheepskin, metal wear.”

However, this doesn’t mean, though, that life on the road as mythical wanderers has been plain sailing. “Everything is always failing and gets repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with numerous thoughts as to how I want things to look, but we’re traveling in a bus with limited room. It’s a unique problem to give the sense like a grand epic, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

We faced other logistical problems that didn’t affect legendary fantasy heroes. “We experienced an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at a music event in Portugal and my luggage – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “It was a worst-case scenario, because there’s not an different option of the concert where I am without a sword.”

Goals Ahead

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is enthusiastic about the days to come. “My goal is to the top – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, ensuring everything is custom-made. This is a feature I want to keep true to, whatever we scale to. Plus, I desire to ride out on a unicorn every night. You know how legends ride bikes on stage? The same idea, but on a mythical creature.”