Plymouth born hardcore quartet Carrier will release their debut EP on the 23rd February 2018. For fans of Counterparts and August Burns Red, Carrier have only been a fully functioning band since March 2017. All coming from previous musical backgrounds, the quartet were keen to do something different and they all seemed to have the same idea of what direction they wanted to go in. Their new EP Wither is a perfect debut offering from the band who combine hardcore and melodic metal in a way that is tangible and honest. Debut single release Grieve is a song written about death, expressing the feelings they individually went through when they lost a friend. The track is a reflection of the anger they felt, it’s painful and they wanted to give an opportunity to be angry with death as a concept and to be angry with the world for taking people too soon. Check out Grieve below!
We managed to catch up with the band as they talk about their upcoming EP and more!
So how has the release of ‘Grieve’ gone so far?
It’s been great! The response we’ve had from radio stations and everyone that has heard it have been really positive which is an amazing thing to hear.
Can you tell us something about the track nobody knows?
The only thing i can think of is that the long scream at the end of the track seemed to be a one time miracle. I’ve tried to recreate it live on numerous occasions but have not been able to pull it off!
How pumped are you for the release of Wither?
We can’t wait, we’ve been sitting on it for so long so it feels good to finally nearly have it out. We just hope the response to the full record is as good as it has been for Grieve. We just want to get this record out and play as many shows around the UK as we can!
What is your favourite track from the upcoming EP?
Each member of the band i think has their own personal favourite but for me mine would have to be ‘Ghosts’. It’s just a fast paced, melodic and hard sitting song that i manage to really connect with both lyrically and musically.
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
We wouldn’t be able to pick one band haha! We’d love to work with the likes of August Burns Red, Counterparts, Our Hollow Our Home and to be honest many more i couldn’t narrow it down. These are all bands that we’ve taken huge influence from both lyrically and musically. ‘Messengers’ by ABR is Jay’s favourite album and is an album that made him really push himself to play/write out of his comfort zone. ‘Tragedy Will Find Us’ was the album that really hit me hard, Allowed me to see more within myself to write with such honesty. So yeah we could never narrow anything down haha!
Will you be touring at all for the release of this EP?
Thats the plan! We’re currently in the process of trying to look at booking ourselves shows later in the year for this record. But if something such as a tour gets offered to us we will more than likely jump at it. Its what we want to do, play shows as far and wide as we can and have fun whilst doing it.
What was the first gig you all attended?
Me – Elton John at home park in 2007, I was about 11.
Jay – Meatloaf
Olly – Angelus Apatrida/Havok/Goatwhore/3 inches of blood
Totti – Motorhead & Clutch in 2006
What’s the alternative scene like in Plymouth at the moment?
Its good, theres a lot of very dedicated people that work behind the scenes of it to make it the best it can possibly be. Its like most places in the sense of sometimes you have good nights and sometimes you have bad nights. Everybody looks after each other and every year there are more and more people coming into the scene which is a great thing to see!
What do you guys get up to in your spare time when not working on music?
We don’t do an awful lot besides practicing and writing, We have jobs that we’re at 4/5 days, or in my case nights, a week. So when we’re not writing we’re just relaxing and enjoying our days off work i guess!