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

Although numerous artists have taken inspiration from epic fantasy, rarely any have genuinely embodied the enchanted lifestyle. Certainly, they could adorn their album covers with creatures, beasts, chained damsels and brawny barbarians, but did a member ever been forced to find a misplaced unicorn horn from a frost-covered ground in the heart of winter? Did a performer devoted hours peering in the interior of a tour bus, mending their own chainmail?

Embracing the Mythos

Created in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and more as they embody their epic fantasies. Starting with knightly, memorable songs to breathtaking live shows, outfit creation, visuals and record designs, they’re more than a heavy metal group as a full immersive experience.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a themed musical group,” explains singer, guitar player, blade-handler and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle drives from a full-capacity concert in a German city to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they have several shows in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a Halloween gig, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. The entire setup was highly handmade, but we had so much fun and the atmosphere was electric. It occurred to me, ‘How about if we could have this much fun every time?’”

The Band’s Evolution

From that point on, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” alongside a pestilence physician (bass player), proud bloodsucker (guitarist) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – continued forward. Their latest album, the follow-up record, evokes images of famous rock groups joining forces to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a grand composition that positions them on the verge of far grander things.

The release was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her fellow members. “It made it a much better project,” she says of the collaborative process. “I struggled at first – There was a sense of a specific level of accomplishment being a woman in music going it alone. There’ve been numerous occasions where after a show and some guy will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Hey – I composed all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

With their growing popularity has grown, so has the scope of their production design. “My philosophy is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on track for a university studies in art before balking at the possibility of so much debt. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to apply artistic expression,” she says. “Be it creating face coverings, outfit planning, mastering post-production music videos … these are all things I don’t know how to do, but it’s exciting to learn as we go.”

As if developing the band’s intricate lore (“Everyone’s urging me to document it because everything is stored,” Riley says, tapping her head) and sewing costumes wasn’t enough, the singer taught herself how to create armor – a difficult task, though she confessedly entrusted her completely original scalemail look to a professional in the city. “It seems like actual armour,” she grins.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They loved the stage blood, toy blades and handmade props with equal enthusiasm as the band. “We played a show in Detroit and it looked like a historical festival,” reminisces Riley with affection. “The whole crowd was in capes, sheepskin, armor.”

This isn’t to say, though, that traveling lifestyle as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “Each item is frequently damaged and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with numerous thoughts as to how I want things to look, but we tour in a bus with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to give the sense like a mythic tale, then compress it into minimal luggage.”

We’ve encountered further organizational challenges that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “There was an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my sword in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “It was a terrible situation, because we don’t have an alternative version of the show where I lack a sword.”

Goals Ahead

As a genuine leader, Riley is gung-ho about the days to come. “I want to go as far as possible – let’s do huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is keeping the self-crafted look, guaranteeing all elements is custom-made. That’s an element I want to stay authentic to, regardless of we achieve. Oh, and I want to make an entrance on a mythical beast each show. Remember how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? That, but on a mythical creature.”