Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes – Manchester Academy – 12/02/20
With Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes (8.5) returning to Manchester as part of a three-date sold out tour you would expect nothing less than a rowdy reception. With their latest album ‘End Of Suffering’ approaching its first birthday, their fans are more than familiar with each and every track on the album.
Usually with their live shows you can expect chaos from front to back, not leaving an inch of space in the venue untouched by the frontman himself as he climbs and surfs his way around the crowd, throwing himself across the stage with his bandmates, and even hang from a few structures from time to time.
This show started no different. After opener ‘Why a Butterfly Can’t Love a Spider’, Frank and his Rattlesnakes delve into the new favourite ‘Tyrant Lizard King’ ending with the frontman scaling the crowd standing tall above them giving everyone the eyes before firing into the furious ‘Juggernaut’ which really kicks up the mosh pits for the first time in the show. ‘Wild Flowers’ as ever sees a sea of female crowd surfers enjoying themselves in a known safe space, before ‘Love Games’ calms the room down a little to set the tone for the middle section of the show.
It’s here where there’s a new dynamic to FC&TR’s set to what we are familiar with, as we’re taken through some softer slower tracks from both ‘End Of Suffering’ and ‘Modern Ruin’. Back to back they effortlessly pass through ‘Anxiety’, ‘Acid Veins’, ‘Neon Trust’, ‘Angel Wings’ and ‘Supervillain’ which really shows a different side to the bands live show. Even hidden track ‘Bleed’ is thrown in with an acoustic guitar to further demonstrate the growth of the band’s liver performance.
With all our preserved energy it’s only fitting that the show must end with some of the bands biggest tracks to get everyone moving once again. ‘Crowbar’ and ‘Devil Inside Me’ finally give the fans a chance to release the energy they have been storing up, as they mosh and crowd surf their way through the end of the set. The evening closes with the cheeky and potty mouthed ‘I Hate You’, which always seems to only get more and more fun every time we sing it out loud.
It’s a refreshing mix up of Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes show but maybe a little too reserved to the middle of the set. After all we know and love their shows for the energy and explosiveness that’s packed within it, but it did seem a little thin on that front for a large part of the show. None the less it’s a solid performance as ever from Frank and the guys, and a great opportunity to hear plenty of material from their most recent album which as expected was much appreciated by the Manchester crowd.
Check out more live photos from this show here!
(PLEASE DO NOT CROP OR EDIT PHOTOS)
Photo Credit: © Danny Peart Photography 2020
