Every fire starts with a spark.
Flame Carrier was the first label we tackled in our Hazy IPA series, inspired by Old Man Gloom’s track on our Springdale 2020 Playlist. We’ve carried that creative torch throughout this whole project, listening to these songs and letting them fuel our creative fire.
This one, of course, is inspired by literal fire. Listener Beware: To Carry the Flame is a loaded power keg that explodes with a droning cacophony of aggressive, angry sound. I listened to it upwards of 100 times to get inspired for this label, and as my soul left my body and the light left my eyes, inspiration took hold.
To Carry the Flame tells the story of harnessing a fire and carrying it straight through Hell: Through the worms. Through the dirt. Straight up through the crust of the Earth to emerge and set fire to your former self.
Wanting to capture the vivid imagery the song produces, we mimicked stalagmites, embers, and molten metal on a can as dark as the place the song sent us to.
We designed this label in October of 2019. Little did we know what awaited us around the corner as a year full of tests and challenges dragged us all straight into this picture:
I can’t think of a song more perfect for this year. To capture both the struggle and the resilience. The sound is aggressive, charged, and angry, but within it is a spark of hope.
