Modern Ruin in Kingston: Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes perform first preview of new album at New Slang

Be honest, you probably missed it. Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes is one of those bands you know you have heard of somewhere, but you wouldn’t be able to hum a single tune.

This isn’t a strange thing, either, as Carter’s screaming vocals are not the easiest to sing along to, but also because the band is still taking its baby steps – it has only been around for a year and a half.

Last night’s show (January 12) at New Slang in Kingston offered the band’s first preview of their new album, Modern Ruin, which will be released on January 20.

After the show, The River found guitar player Dean Richardson eating pizza outside in the snow.

“It was kind of wild,” he said, referring to the dozens of fans who stormed the stage, including a girl who grabbed Carter’s microphone with an “iron grip” and refused to let go.

“I don’t know what was going on, man. It was really good. We have had some really good shows in Kingston.”

Since they started making music in Carter’s garage in April 2015, the Rattlesnakes have received a massive response at festivals such as Reading and Roskilde.

That said, their first concert was at the Fighting Cocks in Kingston two years ago, and they have not been put off small venues since then.

“When you play at a smaller show, if it’s busy, you pretty much know if they like the music. At festivals you don’t necessarily know, because it’s busy,” Dean said.

The new album promises a more varied repertoire than their previous hits, and appears more sophisticated in the way it stretches across the genres.

Then again, songs such as Modern Ruin (listen below) are even heavier than the band’s previous work, as they combine layered guitars with Carter’s gravelly vocal.

“It’s not as aggressive as the first album, so there have been few people that just wanted purely that,” Dean said.

“In the first album we really limited ourselves and said we didn’t want to use many effects, we didn’t want to use many layers, whereas this time it was kind of like no restraints.”

The band promises to start working on new music the day after Modern Ruin’s release, but Dean said the songs could fall into “any sort of genre”.

“We’ll just see what happens with the next one. It could get heavier,” he said.

“This is kind of like when we started, we didn’t have any plans and there were no goals. We’re just going to keep writing and make as much music as we can, really.”