‘I Want to Ride Out on a Unicorn Every Night’: Swords’n’Sorcery Metal Band Castle Rat

Although many musicians have borrowed from epic fantasy, few have fully embraced the fantasy way of life. Admittedly, they might embellish their record jackets with monsters, goblins, chained damsels and strong fighters, but has any musician ever have to find a lost mythical horn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Did a performer taken the time straining their eyes in the rear of a tour bus, repairing their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Established in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered such situations and others as they live out their grand tales. From medieval-inspired, memorable tunes to eye-popping performances, attire styling, videos and cover artwork, they’re not so much a rock act as a complete sensory journey.

“It wasn’t planned to be a outfit with characters,” explains vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport speeds from a full-capacity concert in a German city to one more in another town – they have several shows in the UK now. “After a couple of performances and got booked on a October show, where I made a last-minute decision to dress up. It was all super-DIY, but we had a blast and the feeling in the room was incredible. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have this much fun at every show?’”

The Band’s Evolution

From that point on, the band – which features Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” alongside a medic from history (bassist), aristocratic undead (six-string player) and enigmatic nature priest (drummer) – never turned back. The new record, the follow-up record, evokes images of classic metal icons collaborating to fight their path through a heroic art landscape – a grand composition that places them on the brink of greater success.

The Bestiary was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her fellow members. “This helped a lot stronger album,” she says of the collaborative process. “It was challenging at first – I’d always felt a particular degree of pride being a woman in music going it alone. There’ve been so many times where I finished performing and some guy will say, ‘Those guys create awesome guitar parts!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I composed all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As the band’s stature has expanded, so has the scope of their visual elements. “My philosophy is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. She was originally on path for a art school education before hesitating at the prospect of heavy loans. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express artistic expression,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, attire creation, mastering post-production clips … everything is I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to learn on the fly.”

Even though building the group’s detailed mythology (“Everyone’s urging me to write it down because all the ideas are,” Riley says, indicating her head) and making clothing wasn’t enough, the singer self-educated how to make chainmail – no mean feat, though she confessedly delegated her all-new scalemail look to a New York-based specialist. “It feels like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They took to the theatrical gore, toy blades and crafted rodent bones with similar excitement as the group. “We had a show in Detroit and it looked like a Renaissance fair,” recalls Riley with affection. “All attendees was in cloaks, animal hides, metal wear.”

That’s not to imply, however, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “Everything is frequently damaged and becomes repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have countless concepts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we’re traveling in a van with limited room. It’s an interesting challenge to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then compress it into a small space.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that didn’t affect mythic characters. “We did have an ‘uh-oh’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in Portugal and my luggage – which had my blade in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “This became a worst-case scenario, because we don’t have an backup plan of the performance where I am without a blade.”

Goals Ahead

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “I aim to reach all the way – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is preserving the self-crafted look, guaranteeing everything is handmade. That’s an element I want to stay authentic to, no matter what we grow into. Plus, I wish 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.”