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

While many rockers have taken inspiration from fantasy lore, only a handful have genuinely embodied the fantasy lifestyle. Sure, they may embellish their album sleeves with monsters, goblins, captive women and strong fighters, but did a member ever needed to find a misplaced unicorn horn from a frost-covered ground in the midst of winter? Has a performer taken the time straining their eyes in the rear of a tour bus, mending their own armor?

Living the Fantasy

Created in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have encountered these exact challenges and others as they embody their epic fantasies. From heraldic, catchy anthems to stunning performances, costume design, music videos and cover artwork, they’re not so much a metal band as a total artistic immersion.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” states vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the group’s vehicle travels from a sold-out gig in a German city to one more in another town – they’re also doing multiple performances in the UK this week. “After a couple of performances and were scheduled on a spooky event, where I chose at the final moment to dress up. Everything was highly handmade, but we had an amazing time and the energy was unforgettable. It occurred to me, ‘What if we could have such enjoyment every time?’”

Growth of the Group

From that point on, the group – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” alongside a plague doctor (bassist), proud bloodsucker (six-string player) and enigmatic nature priest (percussionist) – continued forward. The Bestiary, the follow-up record, brings to mind of famous rock groups joining forces to battle their way through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a epic masterpiece that sets them on the brink of greater success.

The Bestiary was a first for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her fellow members. “That contributed to a much better album,” she says of the group work. “I had difficulty at first – I often experienced a specific level of pride as a woman in music going it alone. There have been numerous occasions where I finished performing and some guy will say, ‘The other members write great riffs!’ and I respond, ‘Wait – I created all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

As the band’s stature has grown, so has the scope of their stage presentation. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. Initially, she was on track for a university studies in art before hesitating at the idea of financial burden. “What’s enjoyable about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to express creativity,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, attire creation, mastering post-production song visuals … it’s all stuff I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to discover as we go.”

As if building the band’s intricate lore (“Everyone’s urging me to document it because all the ideas are,” Riley says, tapping her head) and making clothing didn’t suffice, the vocalist learned on her own how to create armor – a challenging endeavor, though she confessedly delegated her brand-new scale armor design to a professional in the city. “It seems like actual armour,” she grins.

Crowd Engagement and Difficulties

What about the crowd? They embraced the fake blood, foam swords and crafted rodent bones with similar excitement as the band. “We performed a gig in Detroit and it resembled a historical festival,” recalls Riley fondly. “The whole crowd was in cloaks, sheepskin, metal wear.”

That’s not to imply, nevertheless, that traveling lifestyle as fantasy adventurers has been easy. “Each item is constantly breaking and becomes fixed temporarily,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have numerous thoughts as to how I want things to look, but we tour in a bus with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into nothing.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that wouldn’t have troubled legendary fantasy heroes. “We did have an ‘oh shit’ moment when we performed at SonicBlast festival in the European country and my suitcase – which had my blade in it – went missing,” says Riley. “This became a nightmare, because we don’t have an alternative version of the concert where I lack a sword.”

Future Ambitions

As a genuine leader, Riley is eager about the what’s next. “I want to go to the top – we should play stadiums,” she says. “The main aspect that’s really important to me is maintaining the handmade style, guaranteeing everything is handmade. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, whatever we grow into. Oh, and I desire to make an entrance on a unicorn at all performances. Remember how famous musicians ride bikes on stage? The same idea, but on a mythical creature.”