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While many artists have borrowed from epic fantasy, only a handful have truly lived the fantasy lifestyle. Admittedly, they could decorate their record jackets with ghouls, beasts, captive women and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever been forced to retrieve a missing mythical horn from a wintry landscape in the heart of winter? Has anyone devoted hours peering in the interior of a road transport, mending their own armor?

Living the Fantasy

Established in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have dealt with such situations and additional ones as they act out their epic fantasies. Starting with medieval-inspired, earworm-heavy songs to stunning concerts, costume design, videos and cover artwork, they’re not just a heavy metal group as a complete sensory journey.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a themed musical group,” says vocalist, guitar player, blade-handler and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a packed show in a German city to one more in another town – they have several shows in the UK this week. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a October show, where I made a last-minute decision to put on an outfit. The entire setup was highly handmade, but we had a blast and the feeling in the room was unforgettable. I realized, ‘What if we could have such enjoyment every time?’”

The Band’s Evolution

After that, the band – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” alongside a pestilence physician (bass player), proud bloodsucker (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (drummer) – haven’t looked back. Their latest album, the band’s second album, conjures visions of classic metal icons joining forces to struggle onward through a mythical painted realm – a grand composition that places them on the edge of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her bandmates. “It made it a much better album,” she says of the collaborative process. “It was challenging at first – I often experienced a certain amount of satisfaction as a female in music working independently. There have been multiple instances where after a show and a person will say, ‘The other members create awesome guitar parts!’ and I think, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As the band’s stature has grown, so has the breadth of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. At first, she had been on course for a fine art degree before hesitating at the idea of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to apply creativity,” she says. “Whether it’s making masks, costume design, figuring out video editing music videos … it’s all stuff I have no experience with, but it’s enjoyable to discover as we go.”

Even though developing the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to record it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and sewing costumes were insufficient, the vocalist taught herself how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly left her brand-new scale armor design to a expert from NYC. “It feels like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Fan Response and Obstacles

What about the crowd? They embraced the theatrical gore, foam swords and handmade props with similar excitement as the musicians. “We had a gig in Detroit and it resembled a historical festival,” reminisces Riley fondly. “Everyone was in robes, wool garments, armor.”

However, this doesn’t mean, nevertheless, that traveling lifestyle as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “All our gear is frequently damaged and ends up duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Plus I get countless concepts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we’re traveling in a vehicle with limited room. It’s an interesting challenge to create the impression like a larger-than-life story, then store it into nothing.”

We faced additional practical issues that didn’t affect fictional warriors. “We experienced an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played a music event in the European country and my luggage – which had my weapon in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because we don’t have an backup plan of the show where I don’t have a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is gung-ho about the days to come. “I want to go as far as possible – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The key element that’s deeply meaningful to me is maintaining the handmade style, making sure each detail is handmade. It’s a component I want to keep true to, no matter what we achieve. Additionally, I desire to ride out on a mythical beast each show. Think about how famous musicians use vehicles in concerts? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”