Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes @ O2 Academy - Liverpool, U.K.

Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes have established themselves as great live performers and their gigs have become legendary among fans of heavy music. Full of energy, socially inclusive and respectful to all people, their live performances bring more fans year after year.

On a cold November evening I went to the O2 Academy Liverpool to check out their latest offering as the band were promoting their new album Sticky. The evening started with a performance by Lynks, which is the artistic pseudonym of Elliott Brett. This 22 year old Bristolian has a guest appearance on Frank Carter and the Rattle Snake’s new album. Lynks, preforming in a masked outfit, presented a solid amount of quality pop music with a lot of humour , although lyrically he tackled difficult subjects like homophobia, alienation and insecurity. Next on the stage was Cassayette, seen by many as the new princess of UK rock music. It is great to see that finally there is a female solo artist who can stir things up in the male dominated world of rock music. The artist has talked many times in interviews about her issues with ADHD and anxiety which have challenged her in the music business. Before this evening I only knew her from the duet ‘Off with his head’ which she did previously with today’s headliner, but musically Cassayette is definitely much more than I anticipated and I can only see a great future ahead of her. I can’t wait to see her next time.

Around 9:30pm, the preheated Liverpool audience heard the first notes of ‘My Town’. For everyone who might not know, on the album this song is performed in duet with Joe Talbot from Bristol based Idles. It was absolute music craziness as you would expect. The band stopped playing for a few minutes during their 4th song as one of the fans fell to the floor, showing an example what a great guy Frank really is. A good mosh pit is a must but crowd safety is absolutely paramount. The Band wanted to make sure that everyone was OK before resuming. When they started playing again it almost felt louder and more energetic. Frank Carter and the RattleSnakes performed further duets with both Cassayette & Lynks and several songs from previous albums including ‘Juggernaut’. The last song played as part of the main set was ‘Lullaby’.

Just when you thought the night could not get better, we heard an encore which included the songs ‘Angel Wings’, ‘Crowbar’ and ‘I hate you’. Frank Carter and the Rattle Snakes raised the level of their performance to the top that night, and the band has developed so much I wouldn’t be surprised if we start seeing them in the very near future as festival headliners. For me, the whole concert was definitely a contender to become gig of the year!