‘My Fantasy Is to Ride a Unicorn Nightly’: Swords’n’Sorcery Heavy Metal Group Castle Rat

Although numerous rockers have borrowed from epic fantasy, few have fully embraced the mythical lifestyle. Certainly, they might adorn their record jackets with ghouls, goblins, chained damsels and strong fighters, but has any musician ever been forced to retrieve a misplaced mythical horn from a snowy field in the heart of winter? Has anyone devoted hours peering in the interior of a traveling vehicle, fixing their own chainmail?

Embracing the Mythos

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and additional ones as they live out their epic fantasies. Starting with heraldic, earworm-heavy tunes to eye-popping performances, attire styling, visuals and record designs, they’re not just a rock act as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a costumed concept band,” explains vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle travels from a sold-out gig in a German city to another in another town – they’re also doing five gigs in the UK now. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a Halloween gig, where I made a last-minute decision to put on an outfit. The entire setup was super-DIY, but we had so much fun and the energy was unforgettable. I realized, ‘What if we could have so much excitement every time?’”

Growth of the Group

Since then, the band – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a plague doctor (bass player), aristocratic undead (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (drummer) – haven’t looked back. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands joining forces to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a epic masterpiece that places them on the brink 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 record,” she says of the team effort. “It was challenging at first – I often experienced a specific level of satisfaction as a woman in music working independently. There’ve been multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘Those guys create awesome guitar parts!’ and I think, ‘Hey – I wrote all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As the band’s stature has grown, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. At first, she had been on track for a university studies in art before pulling back at the idea of heavy loans. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to demonstrate artistry,” she says. “From crafting disguises, costume design, mastering post-production song visuals … these are all things I have no experience with, but it’s fun to figure it out in the moment.”

Even though creating the band’s intricate lore (“People are encouraging me to document it because it’s all in here,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes wasn’t enough, the singer self-educated how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly delegated her brand-new scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They loved the fake blood, toy blades and handmade props with equal enthusiasm as the musicians. “We performed a concert in the Motor City and it resembled a historical festival,” reminisces Riley fondly. “The whole crowd was in capes, sheepskin, armor.”

That’s not to imply, nevertheless, that touring existence as mythical wanderers has been easy. “Everything is always failing and gets duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Moreover I’ll have numerous thoughts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a van with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to give the sense like a mythic tale, then pack it down into minimal luggage.”

We faced further organizational challenges that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we appeared at a music event in the European country and my suitcase – which had my weapon in it – went missing,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because there is no an alternative version of the concert where I don’t have a weapon.”

Upcoming Plans

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is eager about the future. “I want to go all the way – we should play stadiums,” she says. “The main aspect that’s truly essential to me is preserving the handmade style, making sure everything is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to remain faithful to, no matter what we achieve. Oh, and I wish to appear on a magical horse each show. Think about how some artists ride bikes on stage? The same idea, but with a unicorn.”