‘Every Night, I Dream of Riding a Unicorn’: Medieval Metal Group Castle Rat

While plenty of artists have drawn from high fantasy, few have genuinely embodied the mythical existence. Admittedly, they may adorn their record jackets with creatures, goblins, chained damsels and strong fighters, but has any musician ever needed to find a misplaced horn from a unicorn from a frost-covered ground in the depths of winter? Has a guitarist taken the time straining their eyes in the rear of a tour bus, fixing their own armor?

Immersed in the Legend

Established in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have encountered both these scenarios and more as they act out their heroic dreams. From heraldic, earworm-heavy tunes to eye-popping performances, attire styling, videos and record designs, they’re not so much a heavy metal group as a total artistic immersion.

“The band wasn’t intended to be a themed musical group,” explains vocalist, guitarist, sword-carrier and artistic leader Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van drives from a packed show in Cologne to a second one in Aschaffenburg – they are playing multiple performances in the UK now. “Initially, we performed twice and were scheduled on a October show, where I decided spontaneously to dress up. The entire setup was completely self-made, but we had an amazing time and the atmosphere was unforgettable. I thought, ‘What if we could have such enjoyment always?’”

Development of Castle Rat

After that, the ensemble – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rodent Monarch” alongside a pestilence physician (low-end instrumentalist), aristocratic undead (guitarist) and secretive shaman (drummer) – haven’t looked back. Their latest album, the follow-up record, conjures visions of legendary heavy bands joining forces to fight their path through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that positions them on the brink of greater success.

The release was a initial step for Pinkerton in that she opened the floor to her collaborators. “That contributed to a much better album,” she says of the group work. “I struggled at first – I’d always felt a specific level of satisfaction as a woman in music going it alone. There’ve been so many times where after a show and an audience member will say, ‘Those guys compose cool melodies!’ and I respond, ‘Listen – I created all that.’”

Creative Output and Ideas

With their growing popularity has grown, so has the scale of their stage presentation. “My philosophy is always that if an effort matters, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. At first, she had been on course for a fine art degree before pulling back at the idea of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s various avenues to demonstrate creativity,” she says. “Whether it’s making masks, costume design, figuring out video editing music videos … it’s all stuff I have no experience with, but it’s fun to discover in the moment.”

Even though building the band’s intricate lore (“People are encouraging me to write it down because it’s all in here,” Riley says, pointing to her head) and sewing costumes didn’t suffice, the singer taught herself how to make chainmail – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly delegated her all-new scalemail look to a expert from NYC. “It’s as if actual armour,” she smiles proudly.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

What about the crowd? They embraced the theatrical gore, toy blades and papier-mache rat skulls with similar excitement as the musicians. “We performed a show in the Motor City and it resembled a historical festival,” remembers Riley fondly. “The whole crowd was in capes, sheepskin, chainmail.”

That’s not to imply, though, that traveling lifestyle as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “Everything is always failing and becomes duct-taped together,” Riley says. “Plus I’ll have countless concepts as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we are on the move in a vehicle with limited room. It’s a unique problem to make it feel like a larger-than-life story, then pack it down into minimal luggage.”

We faced further organizational challenges that wouldn’t have troubled fictional warriors. “We did have an ‘disastrous’ moment when we performed at a Portuguese festival in the European country and my baggage – which had my blade in it – was misplaced,” says Riley. “It was a nightmare, because we don’t have an backup plan of the show where I lack a blade.”

Upcoming Plans

As a genuine leader, Riley is gung-ho about the what’s next. “I aim to reach as far as possible – we should play stadiums,” she says. “The main aspect that’s deeply meaningful to me is preserving the handmade style, guaranteeing all elements is custom-made. This is a feature I want to remain faithful to, whatever we grow into. Additionally, I want to appear on a mythical beast every night. You know how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? Exactly that, but with a unicorn.”