IN REVIEW: Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes - "Modern Ruin"

After a debut album with The Rattlesnakes that saw Frank Carter channel some of the fiery rage that he expressed during his formative years with Gallows, its follow-up sees a slight return to the more measured, less incendiary music that he explored after leaving Gallows and forming Pure Love. That's not to say that we're in for Pure Love II here, as arrangements here aren't as blatantly geared toward airplay; instead, they retain some of the bite of previous record Blossom while placing more focus on the songcraft than the aesthetic. There are layers and flow here as well as personal chaos; the difference here is that it's controlled chaos.

There will be some detractors in the "longtime fan" camp who will lament the loss of edge, but Modern Ruin is not a soft record; its A-side houses most of the obvious single choices, while the B-side packs a bit more of a wallop, especially on the album's title track (which should alone dispel the notion that Frank can't do loud and angry anymore). As it happens, Carter has grown as a lyricist and a songwriter; the album's closing track, the tender (for its first half at least) ballad Neon Rust, has tiny echoes of Radiohead and arena-mode Green Day. The thing is, it's an assured and powerful closer, and really brings the album into focus; a record full of thrashing and spitting ragers wouldn't have had the first clue what to do with a song like this, but it fits here beautifully.

Whether Carter's intensity level meets your standards or not is irrelevant on Modern Ruin; simply put, this is an album that acts as a showcase for growth. It proves that Frank Carter is capable of both seething and soothing, and has developed a formidable knack for knowing when to do which.

8 GREAT
January 20, 2016 • International Death Cult
Highlights Lullaby • Modern Ruin • Neon Rust