After leaving the band Gallows in 2011 due to artistic differences, Carter started Pure Love, a project with guitarist Jim Carroll, ending that band in 2015 to form Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes with guitarist Dean Richardson. Carter and Richardson had met a few years earlier, when Carter asked Richardson, who was also a designer and coder, to make him a website. With The Rattlesnakes, Carter returned to his hardcore roots, while retaining some of the power-pop sensibilities of Pure Love. On 4 May 2015, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes released the three-track EP Rotten. The three songs would also appear on the band's debut full-length album, Blossom, released on International Death Cult on 14 August 2015. It peaked at #18 on the UK Albums Chart. Carter has described Blossom as being "about sadness and not knowing what to do with it."
The band finished recording Modern Ruin in January 2016, just a few months after the release of their first album. Modern Ruin was released on International Death Cult on 20 January 2017. It peaked at #7 on the UK Albums Chart, and #23 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. The album has a moodier feel than Blossom. It was recorded by Thomas Mitchener, formerly the band's touring bassist, in his Broadfields studio in Watford, England, which is also where Blossom was recorded. In November 2017 the band announced a live album. 23 Live At Brixton Academy was released on 9 March 2018, having been recorded at their 8 December 2017 headline show at the O2 Academy Brixton in London, where they played every song from their first two albums plus their new single "Spray Paint Love".
''End of Suffering'' (2019-present)
The band released their third album, End of Suffering, on International Death Cult on 3 May 2019. The album peaked at #4 on the UK Albums Chart. NME wrote that the album "resembles a firework display on this dazzling record" where Carter "continues to mine increasingly sensitive territory, with impressive results." Some of the tracks address Carter's mental-health battle. Three singles were released off the album: "Crowbar", "Anxiety", and "Kitty Sucker". Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello guests on the song "Tyrant Lizard King". The collaboration came about after Carter ran into Morello in Spain at the festival Resurrection, and performed "Killing in the Name" with Morello's band Prophets of Rage.
Members
Current
Frank Carter – vocals
Dean Richardson – guitars
Tom "Tank" Barclay – bass, keys, synth, backing vocals
Gareth Grover – drums
Former
Memby Jago – drums
Thomas Mitchener – guitars, synth, keys, bass
Touring
Elliot Russell – guitars, keys, synth
Musical style
The band's musical style has been associated with rock, punk rock and hardcore genres. According to Carter they "perfectly fill the gap between indie, punk and rock and roll." Carter has described the band's songwriting style as a mixture of all the musical genres the band likes, "pouring it together in a melting pot that is real and new." He told the BBC in 2017, "Punk to me is not a sound, it's not a fashion, it's not a lifestyle. It's a mindset. You either have it or you don't."
Performances
Carter is known as a dynamic live performer, delivering high-energy sets. The band has also aimed to foster a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment at their live performances. They encourage equality and empowerment with their fans, with Carter calling for only female and non-binary fans to crowdsurf in a safe environment during certain songs. In 2019 Carter was quoted as saying, "Rock gigs have been dominated by men for years - all bands need to work to empower women." The Rattlesnakes; first tour was the Rotten UK Tour from May to June 2015. In March 2016 they toured the UK and Ireland. They performed on the Kerrang! Tour 2016 in support of Sum 41. In February 2017, they supported Biffy Clyro on tour. In October 2017, the band cancelled their North American tour, following the cancellation of four weeks of touring in Europe, so that Carter could focus on his mental health and wellbeing. The band had to pull out of some shows in the summer of 2018, including the INmusic Festival in Croatia, after they were involved in a bus crash. After playing a secret set at Reading Festival in 2018, the band played the festival's main stage in 2019. In the spring and summer of 2019, they toured the UK and Europe, and performed at the Hellendoorn Dauwpop Festival, Primavera Sound, Deichbrand, and Sziget Festival. They supported Foo Fighters on their 2019 European Tour, and supported Bring Me the Horizon on their 2019 Australia Tour. The band headlined the 2019 Monster Energy Outbreak Tour. Their 2019 North American tour was set to begin on 23 September 2019 in New York City, with The Beaches as the opening band on most dates, but the tour was cancelled due to Carter being in a car crash several days before the first show. The Rattlesnakes will headline a tour of Australia in 2020 and have three UK sold-out shows in February, including the Alexandra Palace.
