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

Although numerous musicians have drawn from fantasy lore, rarely any have genuinely embodied the enchanted way of life. Admittedly, they might decorate their album covers with monsters, beasts, chained damsels and brawny barbarians, but has an artist ever needed to retrieve a lost unicorn horn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Has a guitarist taken the time squinting in the back of a traveling vehicle, mending their own chainmail?

Immersed in the Legend

Established in 2019, Brooklyn’s Castle Rat have had to face such situations and additional ones as they embody their grand tales. From knightly, earworm-heavy songs to stunning performances, attire styling, music videos and record designs, they’re more than a rock act as a full immersive experience.

“Castle Rat wasn’t meant to be a themed musical group,” states singer, guitar player, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the musicians’ transport travels from a sold-out gig in Cologne to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they’re also doing multiple performances in the UK now. “Initially, we performed twice and received an offer on a October show, where I made a last-minute decision to wear a costume. The entire setup was highly handmade, but we had a blast and the feeling in the room was unforgettable. I realized, ‘What if we could have so much excitement always?’”

The Band’s Evolution

Since then, the group – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Queen Rat” alongside a plague doctor (bass player), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and secretive shaman (drummer) – continued forward. The new record, the group’s sophomore release, brings to mind of famous rock groups joining forces to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a grand composition that positions them on the edge of greater success.

The release was a new experience for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her fellow members. “It made it a lot stronger album,” she says of the group work. “It was challenging at first – There was a sense of a specific level of pride as a woman in music working independently. There have been multiple instances where I finished performing and a person will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I think, ‘Wait – I composed all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

With their growing popularity has expanded, so has the scope of their production design. “My motto is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton laughs. Initially, she was on path for a art school education before hesitating at the possibility of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to express creativity,” she says. “Be it crafting disguises, attire creation, mastering post-production music videos … everything is I am unfamiliar with, but it’s fun to discover on the fly.”

Even though creating the band’s intricate lore (“Everyone’s urging me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, tapping her head) and stitching garments wasn’t enough, the singer taught herself how to create armor – no mean feat, though she confessedly entrusted her all-new scale armor design to a New York-based specialist. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

What about the crowd? They took to the stage blood, toy blades and papier-mache rat skulls with as much gusto as the band. “We had a gig in Detroit and it looked like a medieval event,” reminisces Riley with affection. “All attendees was in robes, sheepskin, metal wear.”

This isn’t to say, though, that traveling lifestyle as fantasy adventurers has been easy. “All our gear is frequently damaged and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Plus I get countless concepts as to how I desire the presentation, but we are on the move in a bus with only so much space. It’s an interesting challenge to give the sense like a grand epic, then pack it down into a small space.”

We faced further organizational challenges that didn’t affect fictional warriors. “We experienced an ‘disastrous’ moment when we played SonicBlast festival in the European country and my luggage – which had my sword in it – went missing,” says Riley. “This became a terrible situation, because there is no an backup plan of the concert where I don’t have a weapon.”

Goals Ahead

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is eager about the future. “My goal is as far as possible – we should play huge arenas,” she says. “The main aspect that’s deeply meaningful to me is maintaining the self-crafted look, making sure everything is custom-made. That’s an element I want to keep true to, whatever we grow into. Plus, I wish to appear on a mythical beast every night. Remember how some artists do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but on a mythical creature.”