Is it a blessing or a curse to have your debut album become one of the cornerstones of an entire sub-genre? A question that very few bands have to even consider, but it cannot be denied that The Opposite Of December…A Season Of Separation hangs like an albatross around the neck of Poison The Well. Laying the blueprint for the abrasive, melancholic and dare say, melodramatic brand of metalcore that sadly evolved into the bastardized form we know today, Poison The Well were ahead of their time. Crashing drums, spoken word parts and heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics were a revelation back in late 1999 and even though they already had established peers in Converge and Cave In by this point, they ploughed their own furrow. This was in no small part to the pained bellows and cathartic writings of Jeffrey Moreira, who inspired an entire generation of vocalists and lyricists with his performance.
The two follow ups did little to dull the bands light too, with Tear From The Red expanding on the formula and earning the band a major label release for You Come Before You. It has been said that the bands shift in style, leaning more towards a post-hardcore and at times, slightly progressive sound on their last two releases turned some fans away but there are some of the bands best songwriting moments on those records, particularly on 2009’s The Tropic Rot, which proves a sonic launching pad for new effort. With a raft of revival-core bands popping up, live covers of foundational tracks like ‘Nerdy’ and ‘Botchla’ popping up by bands made up of teenagers, some stunning festival performances and tour performances celebrating their debut, it only made sense that Poison The Well would enter the studio again and the result is Peace In Place
“it is a blend of wide-eyed emotive fury and soaring melody”
With all of the focus of the last few years being on the bands early work and more particularly, their old sound, the album had an awkward pressure from the announcement to attempt to hark back to the heavier end of things while at the same time, show the band weren’t content on relying on past glories for future success.
In some ways, this album is an aural continuation of the aforementioned divisive effort The Tropic Rot yet there’s a renewed heft to proceedings. Producer extraordinaire Will Putney has enabled the band to nail their blend of classic Metalcore and forward thinking post hardcore without sacrifice. Like their best works, it is a blend of wide-eyed emotive fury and soaring melody. Putney’s production also highlights the phenomenal, almost metronomic drumming of Chris Hornbrook and the voice of Jeffrey spectacularly. He can’t scream like he could twenty five years ago, but the way he’s evolved his voice is masterful and lends itself to the bands shift in musical style perfectly.
Lulling you into proceedings is ‘Wax Mask’ with a calmly sinister intro before the band kick things into gear by slapping you in the face with the heaviest they’ve sounded in years. Veering between powerful bellows and melodic croons, Moreira is the star of the record, though it must be said that every single member is on top form. Whether it’s demented musings, haunting earworms or teeth shaking screams, he is captivating. Guitarist Ryan Primack deserves a mention too for providing a mix of melody and heaviness that only an experienced guitarist can.
Photo Credit: Sarai Kelley
Whether it’s a journey through the soaring to the bludgeoning ‘Everything Hurts’, or the stomping, anthemic ‘Weeping Tones’, there’s a great sense of balance between the two worlds that the band try to excel in. At times, some of Jeffrey’s vocal lines can seem a little similar and they do seem to have a formula in mind when making this record. A good formula that produces stellar, intriguing results, but a formula nonetheless, but when taking the entire record into consideration, that’s a minor criticism at best. The record ends on ‘Plague Them The Most’ which immediately cements itself as one of the best songs the band have ever written. A journey through every single aspect of the bands sound in just over three minutes, it feels like a statement of intent placed right at the end of the record that signifies the band are not done.
For a legacy band to still remain relevant in 2026 takes a lot more than just touring and putting over younger bands, it takes the spark of creativity being bright and the fires of industry roaring away. Thankfully, Poison The Well have shown that they can stand toe to toe with modern bands on a creative (And in terms of a live show, blow some of them away) level in modern times.