‘I Want to Ride Out on a Unicorn Every Night’: Medieval Heavy Metal Group Castle Rat

Although plenty of artists have drawn from high fantasy, rarely any have genuinely embodied the enchanted way of life. Sure, they may embellish their album sleeves with ghouls, goblins, captive women and strong fighters, but did a member ever have to retrieve a missing unicorn horn from a frost-covered ground in the midst of winter? Did a guitarist devoted hours peering in the rear of a road transport, fixing their own armor?

Immersed in the Legend

Established in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered such situations and additional ones as they live out their epic fantasies. From knightly, earworm-heavy tunes to stunning concerts, outfit creation, music videos and record designs, they’re more than a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” states vocalist, guitarist, sword-wielder and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van drives from a sold-out gig in Cologne to one more in Aschaffenburg – they are playing several shows in the UK this week. “We played two shows and received an offer on a spooky event, where I chose at the final moment to wear a costume. The entire setup was super-DIY, but we had an amazing time and the atmosphere was incredible. I thought, ‘Imagine if we could have so much excitement always?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the band – which includes Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” together with a pestilence physician (bassist), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and mysterious druid (rhythm keeper) – continued forward. The Bestiary, the band’s second album, brings to mind of legendary heavy bands uniting to fight their path through a mythical painted realm – a heroic opus that sets them on the verge of bigger achievements.

The Bestiary was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her collaborators. “This helped a lot stronger album,” she says of the collaborative process. “I struggled at first – I often experienced a particular degree of pride being a woman in music going it alone. There have been so many times where I finished performing and some guy will say, ‘The other members compose cool melodies!’ and I’m like, ‘Listen – I created all that.’”

Artistry and Imagination

With their growing popularity has increased, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. At first, she had been on course for a fine art degree before balking at the possibility of so much debt. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s numerous methods to express creativity,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, costume design, learning how to edit clips … it’s all stuff I am unfamiliar with, but it’s enjoyable to learn as we go.”

As if creating the ensemble’s complex backstory (“Everyone’s urging me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, indicating her head) and stitching garments didn’t suffice, the vocalist self-educated how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly delegated her completely original scalemail look to a expert from NYC. “It feels like actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

Regarding the fans? They loved the theatrical gore, foam swords and handmade props with equal enthusiasm as the group. “We had a concert in the Motor City and it resembled a Renaissance fair,” reminisces Riley fondly. “Everyone was in robes, sheepskin, chainmail.”

This isn’t to say, nevertheless, that traveling lifestyle as fantasy adventurers has been easy. “All our gear is always failing and gets fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Plus I’ll have countless concepts as to how I desire the presentation, but we’re traveling in a van with only so much space. It’s a fascinating test to make it feel like a mythic tale, then pack it down into a small space.”

We’ve encountered further organizational challenges that didn’t affect fictional warriors. “We did have an ‘oh shit’ moment when we performed at a music event in the European country and my baggage – which had my blade in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “That was a terrible situation, because there’s not an backup plan of the performance where I lack a sword.”

Upcoming Plans

Like a true warrior queen, Riley is enthusiastic about the days to come. “I want to go to the top – we should play large venues,” she says. “The only thing that’s deeply meaningful to me is maintaining the self-crafted look, guaranteeing all elements is handmade. It’s a component I want to keep true to, no matter what we achieve. Additionally, I desire to ride out on a mythical beast every night. You know how some artists ride bikes on stage? That, but with a unicorn.”