Following the release of their third studio album End Of Suffering, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes triumph at Watford Colosseum.

As the lights go down at Watford Colosseum, a recording of Bleed starts to play. This is the hidden track included on Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes‘ third album End Of Suffering. The music is haunting, dark and emotional, fans holding up phone lights and lighters swaying to the song, which was a nice change from people just filming on their phones. 

The night opens very differently compared to what we have seen from Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes in the past, instead of rioting onto the stage Frank walks out calmly towards the mic stand with his iconic red microphone beginning to sing Why A Butterfly Can’t Love A Spider. This sets the tone as already somewhat tamer than Frank Carter shows have been in the past. With the release of the new album the live set has seen a lot more slower tracks, which although they are brilliant and clearly mean a lot to the band, they do take away from the none stop powerhouse of a set they used to bring.

That being said, up next is Tyrant Lizard King with its thumping beat bringing the pit to life. Frank decides to create chaos, climbing down from the stage and scaling the barrier before standing onto the fans still singing the track, a huge boisterous pit opening up all around him. Next it’s Dean’s turn as he plays guitar with the crowd holding him up, somehow he still manages to not miss a note.

Heartbreaker is dedicated to the ladies in the crowd, encouraging them to crowd surf in a safe environment as well as starting an all-women mosh pit which looked even larger than the normal one.

Before Anxiety Frank talks about the important topic of mental health saying: “Some days i wake up and I look in the mirror and I can’t understand the person that I see, he’s a fucking monster. I know there are people in this audience that know how that feels. I know that there is people here who wake up in the morning and they don’t feel happy within themselves. When you leave you are going to take this energy, because there is a special kind of energy here, and you are going to use that energy. It is going to give you the courage to talk to someone.

I’m talking to everybody in this room but mostly I am talking to the men because the number one killer of men under the age of 45 is suicide. Your biggest threat is yourself and we aren’t going to do that shit anymore. We are going to live long lives for our parents, for our brothers and sisters, our partners, our wives, our children but most importantly for ourselves because that is what we deserve.”

The song is moving and is becoming a ballad for fans especially those who are struggling.

Tonight sees a satisfying mixture of old and new songs with tracks such as Juggernaut, Vampires, Kitty Sucker and Angel Wings being played.

The night concludes the way it always has done and hopefully the way it always will do, with I Hate You. After dedicating it to all major record labels the band give it their all, explosive with energy and holding nothing back. The set ends with Frank saying “You have given us the life we could only dream of, thank you so much.”

Photos: Dani Willgress