‘My Fantasy Is to Ride a Unicorn Nightly’: Fantasy-Themed Heavy Metal Band Castle Rat

Although many musicians have borrowed from epic fantasy, only a handful have fully embraced the mythical existence. Certainly, they could adorn their album sleeves with creatures, imps, captive women and muscular warriors, but has an artist ever needed to retrieve a lost mythical horn from a frost-covered ground in the heart of winter? Has a guitarist taken the time straining their eyes in the back of a road transport, mending their own metal mesh?

Immersed in the Legend

Created in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have had to face these exact challenges and others as they live out their grand tales. Starting with medieval-inspired, memorable tunes to eye-popping concerts, costume design, music videos and album art, they’re not so much a metal band as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a outfit with characters,” explains vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport speeds from a packed show in a German city to another in Aschaffenburg – they are playing multiple performances in the UK currently. “Initially, we performed twice and were scheduled on a October show, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. It was all completely self-made, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was unforgettable. I realized, ‘How about if we could have such enjoyment at every show?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a plague doctor (bassist), haughty vampire (guitarist) and secretive shaman (percussionist) – never turned back. The new record, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of famous rock groups collaborating to fight their path through a heroic art landscape – a epic masterpiece that sets them on the verge of far grander things.

The Bestiary was a first for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her collaborators. “That contributed to a lot stronger project,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – I often experienced a certain amount of pride as a woman in music working independently. There have been numerous occasions where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘The other members write great riffs!’ and I think, ‘Wait – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

As their fame has increased, so has the breadth of their visual elements. “My philosophy is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. She was originally on course for a art school education before hesitating at the prospect of heavy loans. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to demonstrate artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s creating face coverings, attire creation, learning how to edit music videos … everything is I have no experience with, but it’s fun to discover as we go.”

As if developing the group’s detailed mythology (“The team is pushing me to document it because everything is stored,” Riley says, tapping her head) and making clothing were insufficient, the vocalist self-educated how to craft metal mesh – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly left her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a New York-based specialist. “It feels like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

What about the crowd? They took to the fake blood, foam swords and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the musicians. “We played a show in Detroit and it seemed like a medieval event,” recalls Riley fondly. “The whole crowd was in capes, animal hides, chainmail.”

That’s not to imply, nevertheless, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been smooth. “All our gear is frequently damaged and ends up repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I get endless ideas as to how I desire the presentation, but we are on the move in a van with restricted capacity. It’s a fascinating test to create the impression like a mythic tale, then store it into minimal luggage.”

There have been further organizational challenges that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “We did have an ‘oh shit’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my weapon in it – got lost,” says Riley. “It was a worst-case scenario, because there is no an backup plan of the show where I don’t have a blade.”

Upcoming Plans

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is gung-ho about the days to come. “My goal is to the top – I dream of stadiums,” she says. “The only thing that’s truly essential to me is preserving the DIY aesthetic, guaranteeing all elements is crafted by us. That’s an element I want to stay authentic to, no matter what we scale to. Plus, I desire to ride out on a magical horse each show. Think about how some artists use vehicles in concerts? The same idea, but using a unicorn.”