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Although many artists have drawn from epic fantasy, rarely any have fully embraced the fantasy existence. Sure, they may decorate their album sleeves with ghouls, imps, chained damsels and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever have to find a lost mythical horn from a snowy field in the heart of winter? Did a performer devoted hours squinting in the interior of a tour bus, mending their own chainmail?

Embracing the Mythos

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have encountered such situations and more as they live out their grand tales. From knightly, catchy tunes to stunning performances, costume design, music videos and album art, they’re not just a rock act as a complete sensory journey.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a costumed concept band,” says vocalist, guitarist, sword-wielder and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van speeds from a sold-out gig in a German city to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they are playing multiple performances in the UK now. “After a couple of performances and were scheduled on a spooky event, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. The entire setup was highly handmade, but we had a blast and the energy was unforgettable. I realized, ‘What if we could have so much excitement every time?’”

Growth of the Group

After that, the group – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” joined by a pestilence physician (low-end instrumentalist), haughty vampire (six-string player) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – haven’t looked back. The new record, the band’s second album, conjures visions of famous rock groups uniting to struggle onward through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that sets them on the brink of bigger achievements.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “It made it a lot stronger record,” she says of the collaborative process. “It was challenging at first – There was a sense of a specific level of accomplishment as a woman in music working independently. There’ve been multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and an audience member will say, ‘The other members create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I composed all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As their fame has increased, so has the scope of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. She was originally on track for a art school education before hesitating at the idea of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s creating face coverings, costume design, learning how to edit clips … these are all things I don’t know how to do, but it’s exciting to discover on the fly.”

As if developing the ensemble’s complex backstory (“The team is pushing me to record it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes were insufficient, the vocalist taught herself how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly delegated her completely original scalemail look to a expert from NYC. “It seems like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They took to the theatrical gore, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with as much gusto as the group. “We had a gig in Detroit and it looked like a medieval event,” recalls Riley with affection. “All attendees was in cloaks, wool garments, chainmail.”

That’s not to imply, nevertheless, that traveling lifestyle as fantasy adventurers has been plain sailing. “All our gear is frequently damaged and ends up repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I come up with countless concepts as to how I desire the presentation, but we tour in a van with only so much space. It’s a unique problem to give the sense like a grand epic, then store it into minimal luggage.”

There have been further organizational challenges that would never have plagued fictional warriors. “We experienced an ‘disastrous’ moment when we appeared at a music event in Portugal and my luggage – which had my blade in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because we don’t have an alternative version of the performance where I don’t have a sword.”

Goals Ahead

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is enthusiastic about the what’s next. “I aim to reach as far as possible – I dream of large venues,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is maintaining the DIY aesthetic, making sure each detail is crafted by us. This is a feature I want to keep true to, whatever we scale to. Plus, I want to appear on a magical horse each show. You know how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”