Album Review: The Carrier - 'Blind To What Is Right'

2 January 2011 | 4:33 pm | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

The Carrier as you've always known.

Hybridity lies at the core of The Carrier’s widely acclaimed success. Their ability to fuse delicate, melodic colours with hammerblows of heavy aggression underpins their diverse blend of hardcore which has captured fans from both worlds over the past four years. Coupling this sound is a persona and ethos prided upon a rage-filled angst through which their appeal is fastened. On first impressions, it seems that Blind To What Is Right bears the same dark and gloomy canvas that both predecessors, No Love Can Save Me and One Year Later have been strewn upon; no exception to the artist that is The Carrier. But does this record feature as a masterpiece or rather sit and blend amidst the shades of black that fill their gallery?


The Carrier work a palette comprising several distinct elements. Upon first play, the opening titular track serves as no exception. Fast, metallic riffs. Roaring, tough-styled vocals. Those distinct ringing chords which inevitably lead to a heavy blend of chugging merged with melodic components. This is, The Carrier as you have come to know and love. If anything, the group has flicked on a few dabs and splotches of their heavier side; tracks such as ‘Wash Away My Sins’ and ‘Hollow Pain’ (amongst others) featuring straight-up mosh parts as oppose to that melodic fusion which more often than not, they execute(d) so perfectly. As with every good album, the tempo is thrown around to provide that contrast in slow-song ‘A Stranger To Myself’, interrupting the onslaught of heavy, quick-pace.


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What’s been neglected in this album is the immediate blend of style that championed three-track, No Love Can Save Me. The difference is, The Carrier bring us a statement that when they want to be heavy, they’ve gripped the sledgehammer tight with both hands and hit us over the head with heavy. On the contrary, ‘Everyone Who I Knew And Loved Is Gone’ testifies how when this band wants to be melodic, they’ll pile together their harmonies and high-pitched, shimmering chords and deliver us a solid build-up or two. Somehow or rather, it seems that each song has been structured in a fashion that spells out, “Here is where you cry”, and then “now here is where you mosh.” Strangely enough, The Carrier’s highest peak was arguably reached with the simultaneous cry-mosh. Hence, whilst combining both extremes separately within a record is exciting, there is a feeling that some of the best moments of The Carrier displayed in their previous release have not been followed up as I had hoped for. Nonetheless, this album definitely does have it’s fair share of moments; instrumental interlude ‘Into Darkness’ with the incorporation of new and different cymbals laying out new guns upon the table.

This is The Carrier. Raw, fast, angry, melodic, and bursting with sheer hate-filled energy. But in hindsight, there is not a whole lot to say about Blind To What Is Right. Whilst deepening the roots they founded themselves upon further within the soil, what’s slightly disheartening is the lack of branches this band has matured out into. Past fans may find The Carrier’s latest effort as a meagre extension upon previous material, but for newcomers and all, this is still a record that thrives upon a brilliantly crafted balance between heavy and melodic hardcore. Be sure to check it out upon launch on January 18, or pre-order and receive the immediate download now via Deathwish.

01. Blind To What Is Right

02. Everyone Who I Knew And Loved Is Gone

03. Wash Away My Sins

04. Hollow Pain

05. A Stranger To Myself

06. In Silence Together

07. Downstream

08. Into Darkness

09. All That's Left To See