Album Review: Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes – End of Suffering

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
End of Suffering
International Death Cult
★★★★

Frank Carter will break your heart. unapologetic, he will chew it up and spit it out. He’s not being vicious, it’s merely decorative in order to exorcise the demons. That is the style of rock that he portrays on End of Suffering. The new album by Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes is honest. It’s a dangerous line to cross, giving us the sweat and blood we deserve from a great rock album.

“Why A Butterfly Can’t Love A Spider” — it’s all in the title. A brooding hip shaker that slithers around in bluesy prose. Like a hunter crying into the night, Carter fearlessly loses himself in his own words. He digs deep into the underground of emotional torment to shine above the gutter. Primal instincts is his only weapon.

Frank Carter &the Rattlesnakes – Crowbar

Frank Carter likes to push buttons. “Heartbreaker” and its driving riffs are the adrenaline that pushes this song to the next level. It’s rock and roll excess while staying true to himself. The chorus and the way the band comes together to engage in a new level is everything we need. It almost sends the whole damn ship out of control like a nervous breakdown until the chorus reminds us of the controlled chaos. We are moving full steam to the end of the road and there is nothing stopping us. “Crowbar” is that infinity jump. The strength is in its prowess. Tainted with bravado in a world that wants to persistently tear you down, all the “fucks” in the song are well deserved.

“Anxiety” is a clear indication of self therapy. A song about Carter’s dealings with the disease, he pens out this bedroom ballad. He may not offer a solution, but it feels good when he expresses his own torment to help understand those of us who suffer the same demons. There is a slight feeling of ‘90s grunge without desperately trying to accomplish that stylistic control.

End of Suffering is a wild ride. When we get to “Kitty Sucker” it’s almost too much to simply comprehend just how engulfed this album is in the rock and roll spectrum. Frank Carter is a dangerous man, and this album could not be more defiant, angry, passionate, and understanding to the human condition. Relish in it because End of Suffering is everything we need to lose control.