Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes:
Melting minds and rattling bones in Swansea
Sin City, 13.2.19
In the run up to the release of their third album End Of Suffering
Frank and the gang have been hitting some of the countrys biggest
venues swinging from the rafters and inciting mayhem in the pits.
Their new album- End Of Suffering is a dive into
Franks mind and everything that passes through it. Its
all about getting free from your inner demons and taking the time
to love yourself. Dont think that means theyve lost their
trademark brooding aggression however; they preach their message of
positivity with killer pulsating riffs and wall shaking bellows.
Their freshest single Crowbar tells us what
theyre all about with this one. Be yourself, love yourself and
if you dont like where you are in life then grab that crowbar
and get yourself free to be you. Thats how they kicked off their
set. The lights dimmed, the band glided into view, the warm pulsating
bass ushered in electricity to the atmosphere, here was Frank Carter
ladies and gentlemen, bathed in red light with a sold out crowd hanging
off of every word sung. The chorus kicks in and the room went off,
the audience melted and merged into a sea of bodies bouncing off each
other with every one of them locked in a state of rock and roll ecstacy.
The Rattlesnakes had set their bar high and they didnt dissapoint
one bit. the main men, Frank Carter and Dean Richardson kept the energy
flowing with their awesome stage presence: Frank got up close and
personal with the crowds whilst Dean kept the carnage going on stage
with a beastial performance that left the impression that he and his
Telecaster where a single entity singing its savage song.
This song is an old song; its dedicated
to Theresa May for fucking our futures up
The first of many song dedications in the night, this emotionally
charged rendition of Trouble from their debut album was
followed by Frank leaping the barrier and quite literally hanging
from the rafters. A particularly stand out moment from the night,
he looked like a mad pirate as he swung himself over the crowd mic
in mouth as the band went into a thumping instrumental. Carter suddenly
made the back row late commers the front row lucky few, as he performed
his next few tracks from the tables of the merch stand. Security looked
terrified, Frank looked insane; it wouldnt have been a Rattlesnakes
gig without a moment like this.
Often times you can pinpoint a groups demographic by looking
at the audience. Not here though. From people scraping sixty to people
who looked they came straight from school everyone was united in their
mutual love of letting loose and rocking out. (Although there werent
quite so many of the oldies bouncing about the pits)
End Of Sufferings message of love and understanding
became more clear in the latter half of the show. Unreleased track
Heartbreaker was introduced to be dedicated to all of
the women whove had to deal with abuse and made to feel unsafe
in their enviroment.
If youve ever wanted to crowd surf but didnt
for fear of being touched inappropriately this is your chance.
This was the offer to the female members of the audience and they
snatched it up with glee. The song itself was a defiant middle finger
to mysogyny, a great track but not as great as what Frank did with
it. Women of all ages sprouted to the tops of the crowd floating about
with cheshire cat smiles. Every time they would wind up infront of
the barrier, it was straight back round and up onto the crowd for
another surf. Hes an artist who uses his podeium to preach positivity
with a determined aggressive sound. Another new track Anxiety
took the crowd off of their wild frenzy for a sombre moment. Speaking
of his own experiences of feeling trapped with toxic masculintiy he
urged the crowd to talk about their issues and ignore traditional
stereotypes the pinnacle of a warrior is to die, were
not doing that shit anymore, talk about it.
The gang delivered a performance that rattled your ribs
and shook the floor beneath you. Live, they sound raw and wild which
works in the musics favor, fitting their image perfectly. Closing
with a four song encore that ended in (a mostly crowd sung) I
hate you you get more than your moneys worth. From the stage
and crowd, they whip up an energy in the room thats pure, unfiltered
excitement that left you bouncing with joy with every fresh mosh pit
that opened up. They tear down toxic norms and they kick ass doing
it. This is Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes and theyre not
going anywhere!
http://andtherattlesnakes.com/
Words and Pix - Dom Waters
More pix here
Thanks to Rob at Sonic PR for fixing this up