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

Although many artists have drawn from fantasy lore, rarely any have genuinely embodied the enchanted existence. Admittedly, they might adorn their record jackets with creatures, goblins, chained damsels and brawny barbarians, but has any musician ever been forced to recover a lost mythical horn from a frost-covered ground in the midst of winter? Has a performer spent time straining their eyes in the rear of a road transport, mending their own chainmail?

Living the Fantasy

Formed in 2019, New York’s Castle Rat have had to face such situations and others as they embody their heroic dreams. From knightly, memorable anthems to stunning concerts, attire styling, music videos and cover artwork, they’re not just a rock act as a complete sensory journey.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a outfit with characters,” explains vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and visionary Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle travels from a full-capacity concert in Cologne to a second one in another town – they’re also doing five gigs in the UK this week. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a Halloween gig, where I decided spontaneously to wear a costume. It was all completely self-made, but we had an amazing time and the energy was incredible. I thought, ‘How about if we could have this much fun every time?’”

Development of Castle Rat

After that, the band – which features Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” joined by a plague doctor (low-end instrumentalist), proud bloodsucker (lead guitarist) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – haven’t looked back. Their latest album, the follow-up record, evokes images of classic metal icons uniting to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that places them on the edge of bigger achievements.

The release was a first for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “That contributed to a much better record,” she says of the team effort. “It was challenging at first – There was a sense of a specific level of pride as a woman in music doing everything solo. There’ve been multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and a person will say, ‘The other members create awesome guitar parts!’ and I’m like, ‘Hey – I composed all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

With their growing popularity has increased, so has the breadth of their production design. “The saying I live by is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton chuckles. Initially, she was on course for a university studies in art before pulling back at the prospect of so much debt. “The fun thing about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to demonstrate artistic expression,” she says. “Be it crafting disguises, attire creation, learning how to edit clips … everything is I am unfamiliar with, but it’s enjoyable to learn in the moment.”

Even though developing the ensemble’s complex backstory (“Everyone’s urging me to record it because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and sewing costumes were insufficient, the singer taught herself how to make chainmail – a difficult task, though she admittedly entrusted her completely original scale armor design to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

As for audiences? They took to the theatrical gore, soft weapons and papier-mache rat skulls with as much gusto as the group. “We performed a show in the Motor City and it seemed like a historical festival,” recalls Riley happily. “The whole crowd was in capes, sheepskin, metal wear.”

This isn’t to say, nevertheless, that traveling lifestyle as mythical wanderers has been easy. “Each item is always failing and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Additionally I get countless concepts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a van with only so much space. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a grand epic, then compress it into nothing.”

We faced additional practical issues that wouldn’t have troubled mythic characters. “We did have an ‘oh shit’ moment when we appeared at SonicBlast festival in the European country and my luggage – which had my blade in it – got lost,” says Riley. “This became a worst-case scenario, because we don’t have an backup plan of the performance where I lack a sword.”

Goals Ahead

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is enthusiastic about the future. “My goal is as far as possible – let’s do large venues,” she says. “The only thing that’s deeply meaningful to me is keeping the self-crafted look, ensuring everything is handmade. That’s an element I want to remain faithful to, regardless of we grow into. Oh, and I want to appear on a unicorn each show. Think about how legends ride bikes on stage? The same idea, but on a mythical creature.”