Frank Carter (musician)

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Frank Carter
Frank Carter performing at Rock im Park in 2017
Background information
Birth nameChristopher Frank Carter
Born (1984-04-27) 27 April 1984 (age 40)
Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, U.K.
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active2005–present
Labels
Member ofFrank Carter & the Rattlesnakes
Formerly ofGallows, Pure Love

Christopher Frank Carter[1] (born 27 April 1984) is an English musician and tattoo artist, who has been a part of the musical groups Gallows, Pure Love and Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes.[2] According to The Independent's Nick Hasted, Carter is renowned for his "ferocious live presence" and "confrontational image".[3]

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

Carter grew up in Hemel Hempstead in England, his mother was an Irish dance teacher and his father was a DJ. He is the eldest of four brothers,[4] including Steph Carter, who would play guitar in Gallows along with Frank,[5] and Richard Carter who would eventually form the band Blackhole.[3] His parents divorced when Carter was in his teens, which led to him discovering punk rock music.[4]

From a young age, Carter had a passion for music and art. He formed his first band called All Night Drive at sixteen, where he was given the choice to either learn an instrument or become a frontman, to which he decided to be the group's vocalist. After high school, he went to art college, however he dropped out as he felt he was "not learning anything", which led to him pursuing a career as a tattoo artist.[4] He is currently an artist at Rose of Mercy in London.[6]

Gallows: 2005–2011[edit]

Gallows in 2007

Carter formed Gallows in 2005, influenced by the music of hardcore punk bands Black Flag, Minor Threat, Swing Kids and JR Ewing. They released their debut album Orchestra of Wolves on 25 September 2006 through In at the Deep End Records in the U.K. and Epitaph Records in the U.S.[7] The album peaked at number 57 on the U.K. charts.[8]

In March 2007, Gallows signed a deal with Warner Bros Records, making them the first British hardcore punk band to sign to a major label.[9] In September, Gallows opened for Poison the Well on their 2007 U.K. alongside Lethal Bizzle.[10] Carter's brother Richard took over for one of the performances in Inverness due to his "waves of concussion" and persistent bleeding from the band's performance the previous night at Stoke On Trent. Richard began being abused by the crowd, which led to Frank getting into a physical altercation with multiple members of the crowd and the subsequent cancellation of the next two dates of the tour.[3]

On 2 May 2009, Gallows released their second album Grey Britain,[11] which was a concept album based around post–credit crunch Britain, which was "centered on a world of emboldened racism, xenophobia, knife crime and inescapable mental illness".[12] It peaked at number 20 on the U.K. charts.[8] The album led to Warner Bros dropping the group due to them believing it to be too confrontational politically.[13] In 2011, Carter departed from Gallows due to creative differences and tensions within the band.[14]

Pure Love: 2011–2014[edit]

Carter formed Pure Love in 2011, with The Hope Conspiracy and The Suicide File guitarist Jim Carroll, after the pair had run into one another multiple times at local New York City bars.[2] The pair bonded over how neither felt a connection anymore to hardcore and punk, with Carter saying they simply wanted to "play fun rock’n’roll music without any of the stress".[15] The pair released their debut album Anthems on 4 February 2013 through Vertigo and Mercury Records.[16] The album's work was consciously different to Carter's work with Gallows, by making use of distinctive hooks and influences from classic rock.[17] On 10 February 2014, Pure Love announced that they would be going on an "indefinite hiatus", due to a "hard year".[18]

Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes: 2015–present[edit]

Carter performing with the Rattlesnakes in 2019

In April 2015, Carter announced the formation of a new band called Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes, which at the time he described as a return to his "hardcore roots".[19] On 14 September 2015, the Rattlesnakes released their debut album Blossom, through International Death Cult.[20] In a review by Metal Hammer, writer Thea de Gallier, described how Carter "may be a grown-up and a dad now, but he’s still capable of being a figurehead for the pissed-off youth who are too young to have had the Sex Pistols".[21] The album peaked at number 18 on the U.K. charts.[22]

On 20 January 2017, the Rattlesnakes released their sophomore album Modern Ruin through International Death Cult.[23] It debuted at number seven on the U.K. albums chart.[24] The album retained the aggression and hardcore sensibilities of the band's previous effort, however also incorporated elements from Carter's previous project Pure Love.[25] In an interview with Kerrang!, Carter stated that much of the album had been based around the alcoholism that he had experienced after breaking his straight edge lifestyle of twelve years on Christmas 2015.[26]

On 3 May 2019, the Rattlesnakes released their third album End of Suffering through the label International Death Cult.[27] It peaked at number 4 on the U.K. charts.[22] On 6 June, Carter was featured on the cover of the Armed's single titled "Ft. Frank Turner", which in fact featured Frank Turner, not Carter.[28] On 23 and 25 August, performed as second support at Reading and Leeds Festivals with the Rattlesnakes, the highest he'd ever been billed for the festivals.[29] On 19 September, he was involved in a life-threatening car crash in Devon, which led to the cancellation of the first week of the Rattlesnake's scheduled U.S. tour.[30] On 11 October, he was featured on Can't Swim's track "Power".[31] On 29 November, Black Futures released a collaborative remix of the Rattlesnakes' song "Crowbar".[32]

Personal life[edit]

Carter followed a straight edge lifestyle beginning in 2003, however ended his sobriety on Christmas 2015. For sometime after that, he struggled with alcohol abuse, but by February 2016 he had developed a relatively healthy relationship with the substance.[26]

He is outspoken about his struggle with anxiety.[33] In an interview with Music Feeds he stated that the struggle had been present since he was seven years old.[34]

He was married to Scottish tattoo artist Sarah Carter Schor,[35] however the pair divorced in early 2018.[36] They have one child together, their daughter Mercy Rose Carter.[37]

Discography[edit]

With Gallows

With Pure Love

With the Rattlesnakes

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Into the Snakepit". Kerrang! (28). 7 December 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b Ramirez, Carlos. "Frank Carter (Gallows, Pure Love, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes)". Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Hasted, Nick (27 September 2007). "Gallows: What drives a band to sing about date rape and disgust?". The Independent. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Mączewski, Paweł. "I Travelled Through All of Europe to Have Frank Carter Tattoo Me". Vice Media. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  5. ^ Murray, Robin (14 July 2011). "Frank Carter Talks Gallows Departure". Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  6. ^ Markarian, Taylor. "11 Musicians Who Are Also Tattoo Artists". Alternative Press. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  7. ^ Lymangrover, Jason. "Gallows Biography by Jason Lymangrover". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Gallows". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Gallows sign major label deal". NME. 27 March 2007. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  10. ^ "Poison the Well To Tour U.K. With Gallows, Lethal Bizzle". Blabbermouth.net. 22 June 2007. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Gallows: Classic Concepts". (January 2009). Rock Sound, p.65
  12. ^ Connick, Tom. "Gallows Predicted Fractured Brexit Britain, Ten Years Early". Vice Media. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  13. ^ Law, Sam (3 April 2019). "Frank Carter From Gallows to the Rattlesnakes, a Lifetime Laid Bare". Kerrang!: 3.
  14. ^ Goodwyn, Tom (21 October 2011). "Gallows: 'Frank Carter wanted us to turn into Queens Of The Stone Age'". NME. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  15. ^ Goodwyn, Tom (14 August 2012). "Frank Carter: 'Pure Love is the band I've always wanted to be in' – video". NME. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  16. ^ Pederson, Tori. "Pure Love Anthems (2013)". Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  17. ^ Owens, David (19 July 2012). "Former Gallows frontman Frank Carter undergoes startling rock 'n' regenesis". Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  18. ^ Stubbs, Dan (10 February 2014). "Pure Love announce 'indefinite hiatus' following 'hard year'". NME. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  19. ^ Bryant, Tom (7 April 2015). "Frank Carter Goes Back To His Hardcore Roots". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  20. ^ Jamieson, Sarah (14 August 2015). "Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes - Blossom". Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  21. ^ Gallier, Thea de (13 October 2015). "Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes: Blossom". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  22. ^ a b "Frank Carter/The Rattlesnakes". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  23. ^ Cooper, Leonie (20 January 2017). "Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes – 'Modern Ruin' Review". NME. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  24. ^ "Frank Carter Tattooed His Own Neck In The Mirror & It's Hilariously Bad". Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  25. ^ Otsa, Jamie. "Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes". Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  26. ^ a b "Frank Carter". Kerrang!: 3. 14 December 2016.
  27. ^ Brannigan, Paul. "Album Review: Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes – End of Suffering". Kerrang!. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  28. ^ Lavin, Will (6 June 2019). "The Armed troll Frank Turner with new single 'Ft. Frank Turner', which features Frank Carter on the cover". NME. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  29. ^ Reilly, Nick (25 August 2019). "Frank Carter has a message for Dave Grohl at Reading 2019: "Please leave the Jager at home!"". NME. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  30. ^ "Frank Carter 'lucky to be alive' after car crash in Devon". BBC News. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  31. ^ "Can't Swim have teamed up with Frank Carter for their new 'Power' video". Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  32. ^ "Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes have shared a Black Futures remix of their track 'Crowbar'". Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  33. ^ Divita, Joe. "Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes: Managing Anxiety + What Helps Us". Loudwire. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  34. ^ Hearn, Sean A (3 May 2019). "Frank Carter Discusses Staring Anxiety In The Face On The Rattlesnakes' New Album 'End Of Suffering'". Music Feeds. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  35. ^ "Her Indoors Interviews Him Onstage – Frank Carter and Sarah Carter Schor in Conversation". Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  36. ^ "Getting personal with Frank Carter". 23 February 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  37. ^ "Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes Make It a Family Affair at Reading 2015". 30 August 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
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