It’s early December, and snowing heavily in Saugerties. That’s nothing unusual for upstate New York, but it is something of a novelty for Riley Pinkerton. The Castle Rat frontwoman moved here from Brooklyn last summer, but the band’s intense touring schedule has meant that it’s only now, some five months later, that she’s actually been able to spend time in the new house she shares with her boyfriend.
2025 was a crazy year for Castle Rat and Riley Pinkerton. They’ve gone from being relative unknowns – albeit relative unknowns with a fantastic, Dungeons & Dragons-inspired image – to one of the most talked-about new bands in metal. Videos of Riley, clad in a chainmail bikini and brandishing a huge sword onstage, have gone viral.
