Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes – Modern Ruin
Release Date: 20th January 2017
Label: International Death Cult
After not being much of a fan of Gallows I didn’t hold much hope for Frank Carter when he started his new project with The Rattlesnakes in tow. After hearing ‘Juggernaut’ and ‘Fangs’ from their debut album Blossom I was instantly converted and from there my excitement for Modern Ruin began. In truth, this album hasn’t left my car/playlist/head all year so this is really a collection of my thoughts over the last 11 months.
The most striking element of Frank’s songwriting is almost always the lyrical content and that is very much the same on Modern Ruin. ‘Bluebell’ is the minute long intro with Frank soothingly singing about life and your control over ageing. The gentle guitar alongside it provides a kind backdrop to some hard lines but leads perfectly onto the opening track ‘Lullaby’.
The immediate contrast to Blossom is with how Frank delivers his vocals. On Blossom they were spat like arrows, here though there is a softer tone to his words and with that comes more of a focus on what he’s actually singing. The topics spread from mortality to girls and whilst there may be some similarities in how they make you feel it’s more diverse than it sounds.
Modern Ruin is a massive journey from the solemnness of tracks like Acid Veins and Neon Rust to the power of Jackals. It doesn’t ever reach ‘Fangs’ or ‘Juggernaut’ levels of raw power, but it simmers away under the surface keeping itself calm and measured before the energy explodes seemingly randomly. The chorus of God Is My Friend is a prime example of this, trundling away before the chorus lets rip in a more subtle way than anything from ‘Blossom’.
11 months since it was released, ‘Modern Ruin’ feels just as fresh as it did the first time I listened to it and live the tracks are just as powerful, but with more depth. If this is a standard Frank can keep up then he is destined for even bigger things than even he could have imagined.
Recommended Track: Thunder
Rating: 9/10
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