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

While many artists have taken inspiration from high fantasy, few have genuinely embodied the fantasy lifestyle. Sure, they may decorate their album sleeves with monsters, beasts, chained damsels and muscular warriors, but did a member ever have to recover a lost horn from a unicorn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Did a guitarist taken the time straining their eyes in the back of a tour bus, fixing their own metal mesh?

Living the Fantasy

Formed in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face such situations and others as they live out their grand tales. From knightly, catchy anthems to breathtaking performances, outfit creation, music videos and record designs, they’re more than a rock act as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a themed musical group,” says vocalist, guitarist, sword-wielder and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle drives from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to a second one in another town – they’re also doing several shows in the UK this week. “We played two shows and received an offer on a spooky event, where I decided spontaneously to put on an outfit. Everything was highly handmade, but we had so much fun and the atmosphere was electric. I realized, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement every time?’”

Growth of the Group

Since then, the group – which includes Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” together with a pestilence physician (bass player), haughty vampire (guitarist) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – continued forward. Their latest album, the group’s sophomore release, conjures visions of classic metal icons joining forces to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a epic masterpiece that places them on the verge of far grander things.

The release was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “That contributed to a lot stronger record,” she says of the group work. “It was challenging at first – I’d always felt a specific level of satisfaction as a female in music working independently. I’ve had multiple instances where after a show and an audience member will say, ‘The band create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I wrote all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the scale of their production design. “My philosophy is always that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. She was originally on path for a fine art degree before hesitating at the prospect of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to demonstrate creativity,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, costume design, learning how to edit clips … these are all things I have no experience with, but it’s enjoyable to discover on the fly.”

Even though developing the band’s intricate lore (“The team is pushing me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and sewing costumes wasn’t enough, the singer learned on her own how to make chainmail – no mean feat, though she confessedly entrusted her brand-new scale armor design to a professional in the city. “It seems like actual armour,” she beams.

Fan Response and Obstacles

What about the crowd? They embraced the fake blood, soft weapons and crafted rodent bones with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We had a gig in Detroit and it resembled a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley fondly. “Everyone was in capes, wool garments, chainmail.”

That’s not to imply, though, that traveling lifestyle as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been easy. “Everything is frequently damaged and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I come up with countless concepts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a bus with limited room. It’s an interesting challenge to give the sense like a grand epic, then pack it down into a small space.”

There have been additional practical issues that didn’t affect fictional warriors. “We experienced an ‘oh shit’ moment when we appeared at a music event in Portugal and my baggage – which had my sword in it – got lost,” says Riley. “It was a terrible situation, because we don’t have an backup plan of the concert where I don’t have a weapon.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is gung-ho about the future. “I aim to reach to the top – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The key element that’s deeply meaningful to me is maintaining the handmade style, ensuring all elements is custom-made. That’s an element I want to stay authentic to, no matter what we achieve. Oh, and I want to make an entrance on a mythical beast at all performances. Remember how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? That, but using a unicorn.”