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Although numerous rockers have drawn from fantasy lore, few have truly lived the enchanted lifestyle. Certainly, they could embellish their album sleeves with monsters, beasts, manacled maidens and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever have to retrieve a misplaced unicorn horn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Has anyone devoted hours squinting in the interior of a tour bus, fixing their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Formed in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and others as they embody their epic fantasies. From heraldic, memorable anthems to eye-popping performances, attire styling, videos and cover artwork, they’re more than a rock act as a full immersive experience.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a themed musical group,” explains singer, guitarist, sword-carrier and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle travels from a sold-out gig in Cologne to another in Aschaffenburg – they are playing five gigs in the UK this week. “We played two shows and were scheduled on a spooky event, where I made a last-minute decision to put on an outfit. Everything was super-DIY, but we had a blast and the atmosphere was incredible. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

After that, the group – which features Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a pestilence physician (low-end instrumentalist), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and secretive shaman (percussionist) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, evokes images of famous rock groups collaborating to battle their way through a heroic art landscape – a heroic opus that sets them on the brink of far grander things.

This album was a first for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her fellow members. “It made it a lot stronger record,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – I’d always felt a certain amount of pride as a female in music going it alone. There’ve been so many times where after a show and an audience member will say, ‘The band compose cool melodies!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I composed all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As their fame has grown, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. At first, she had been on course for a university studies in art before balking at the prospect of heavy loans. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to apply artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, costume design, learning how to edit music videos … it’s all stuff I don’t know how to do, but it’s fun to discover on the fly.”

Even though building the band’s intricate lore (“Everyone’s urging me to write it down because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the singer self-educated how to make chainmail – no mean feat, though she admittedly delegated her all-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a New York-based specialist. “It seems like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They embraced the stage blood, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with equal enthusiasm as the musicians. “We had a show in the Motor City and it seemed like a historical festival,” reminisces Riley fondly. “Everyone was in robes, animal hides, armor.”

However, this doesn’t mean, though, that touring existence as mythical wanderers has been easy. “Everything is always failing and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Moreover I’ll have endless ideas as to how I want things to look, but we’re traveling in a vehicle with restricted capacity. It’s a unique problem to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into a small space.”

We’ve encountered other logistical problems that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “We did have an ‘disastrous’ moment when we appeared at a music event in the European country and my suitcase – which had my blade in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “This became a terrible situation, because we don’t have an different option of the performance where I am without a weapon.”

Goals Ahead

As a genuine leader, Riley is gung-ho about the future. “My goal is to the top – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The only thing that’s really important to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, ensuring all elements is custom-made. It’s a component I want to keep true to, regardless of we grow into. Oh, and I wish to make an entrance on a magical horse at all performances. Think about how some artists do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but using a unicorn.”