Pure Love were good, but let’s be fair, it is much better to have angry Frank back. It’s what he does best, he was born to be controversial, aggressive and incendiary. We love it and wait with baited breath for everything he says or does. Don’t be fooled, Frank has more in his locker than anger, the album offering a glimpse into the heart and soul of an artist, a performer, a family man and a human being.
‘Juggernaut’ launches with an assault on the senses, Frank declaring ‘even on my own, you can’t stop me’ and who could doubt him. Almost single handedly (of course with his Rattlesnakes and Banquet Records), he has created a band, booked the tour, made the album, EP and singles artwork and carried the torch for British D.I.Y Punk, whilst maintaining his aura of down to earth, genuine enigma. “I am the Juggernaut” indeed.
Pit catalyst ‘Fangs’ is the one which everyone was waiting for at the recent live shows, a grizzly beat driving towards the chorus of, “If you have fangs, then sink them in”, an instant classic, before the less well known ‘Devil Inside Me’ which enhances Frank’s vocal range, both screaming and singing adding to the overall quality of this track.
Never one to shy away from controversy, ‘Paradise’ is about suicide bombers, and how Frank hopes they don’t get to see their paradise when they die. The song itself is excellently crafted with several moments to facilitate a full crowd sing-along, and enough of the old Frank to rally any pit, the violent, “You coward fucking scum” being spat at you before an interlude scales up the musical tension.
The album has a sub text of loss, mourning and questions around the afterlife, or existence thereof, and ‘Loss’ explores this concept further, Frank shouting, “It’s fucking lonely” when you lose someone you love. The live version of this is both raw, visceral and emotional, the weight of releasing his emotions clear with every word, a feeling that most can relate to. This context is explored further in ‘Beautiful Death’ where Frank gets pretty deep lyrically, “I can feel you fading, it’s ruining my soul”. Frank has a very unique ability to portray both his emotion and the desired subtext of the lyrics through his vocal style. If you can listen to this without feeling his pain, then you’re probably not human.
‘Primary explosive’ is a proper party tune, laden with angry vocals, and is one of the LP’s finer moments. The song breaks half way through, before an unplugged section of guitar and vocals, before ‘I Hate You’, a song about wishing your nemesis would die, the sound powerful and enjoyably jovial.
Frank Carter burst on to the scene with Gallows, an angry figure, caustically dipped in venom. Through music and dealing with what life throws at you, he has grown into a more rounded, mature and likeable character. His metamorphosis is welcome; his Rattlesnakes too. It kind of seems like everything before was building to this, the importance of the past fading away; the future very bright for the punk icon and his Rattlesnakes.
DAVE BULL