Poison The Well released the definitive album “The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation” in December 1999 and it went on to become a benchmark of the genre that has inspired a generation of bands.
The album was chosen as one of the “15 ‘90s Metalcore Albums That Still Resonate Today” by Brooklyn Vegan; as one of the “21 Best U.S. Metalcore Albums of All Time” by Kerrang!; as one of the “25 Best Metalcore Albums of All Time” by Loudwire; and as one of the “Top 60 Best Hard Rock Albums of All Time” by Revolver. Its influence is indisputable.
But the band is not content to rest on the laurels of its past achievements, as mighty as those achievements are.
They are also sharing the video for “Thoroughbreds” – watch it below.
Today, Poison The Well announce the March 20th release of “Peace in Place”, their first album in sixteen years. It will arrive via SharpTone Records.
Pre-order “Peace in Place” here.
Tracklist:
1. Wax Mask
2. Primal Bloom
3. Thoroughbreds
4. Everything Hurts
5. Weeping Tones
6. A Wake of Vultures
7. Bad Bodies
8. Drifting Without End
9. Melted
10. Plague Them the Most
The song boasts all the hallmarks fans have come to know, love, and expect from Poison The Well — introspective lyrics, urgent riffing, massive breakdowns that cause tectonic plates to shift, and soaring melodies.
“Joining Poison The Well at 18 and chasing music shaped how I approach life”, says singer Jeffrey Moreira. “Coming back 16 years later — unsure if I could still do what I once left behind — only reinforced how strong our bond is and how much this band has given me. I’m grateful to do this again with my friends, and to share a record made with honesty, intention, and connection at its core”.
Regarding the new song “Thoroughbreds”, he says: “Beasts of burden are hard to break—not because they’re strong, but because they’re stubborn. ‘Thoroughbreds’ is about realizing that some lifelong bonds don’t fail early; they fail after you believed they were there to stay”.
As for the album as a complete body of work, the singer shares: “‘Peace in Place’ is probably the most pissed record we’ve ever made. After stepping away from Poison The Well, it felt like all the emotion from that time — frustration, heartache, disappointment — compressed into something heavy and unavoidable. But anger isn’t what drives us. Connection is. Sometimes that connection starts in darker places, and having an outlet for those emotions is how we find our way forward. This record lives across that entire spectrum. It’s about turning something negative into something honest, putting it into the world, and realizing that even in anger, we’re still capable of moving forward, relating to each other, and finding some form of peace—if not happiness, then at least a place to stand”.
PTW also collaborate with Frank Maddocks (Linking Park, Deftones) on the “Peace in Place” cover art.
In the space of barely a breath, Poison The Well pacify fits of jarring brutality with moments of fragile beauty. Their unmistakable melodic hardcore gently dilutes the effects of trauma, betrayal, depression, and loss with hard-won wisdom and diligently earned self-acceptance. For as much force as they commit to the riffs and the breakdowns, there’s an equal amount of naked emotion encoded in their relatable hooks. At this point, they are unassumingly, yet undeniably embedded in the DNA of modern metal and hardcore. Poison The Well’s 1999 debut, “The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation” has claimed spots on Brooklyn Vegan’s 15 ‘90s Metalcore Albums That Still Resonate Today; KERRANG!’s 21 Best U.S. Metalcore Albums of All Time; Loudwire’s 25 Best Metalcore Albums of All Time; and Revolver’s 10 Most Influential Metalcore Albums of All Time. Stereogumput it best, “The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation” influenced a whole generation of metalcore bands”. Meanwhile, 2003’s “You Come Before You” remains regarded among Metal Hammer’s 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the 21st Century and Rock Sound’s 250 Greatest Albums of Our Lifetime. Despite going on hiatus following 2009’s “The Tropic Rot”, the group’s influence has only expanded over the years (as evidenced by over 100 million streams across their catalog).
After touring in 2015 and 2021, they’ve commemorated milestone birthdays of both “You Come Before You” and “The Opposite of December…” with in-demand headline jaunts. Once again, the members felt an intense need to create as a unit. Rallying together, the guys channeled the spirit of their most celebrated material through a prism of new experience on their sixth full-length offering, “Peace in Place”.
Line-up:
Jeffrey Moriera — Vocals
Ryan Primack — Guitar
Vadim Taver — Guitar
Christopher Hornbrook — Drums
Noah Harmon — Bass
Weblinks:
www.poisonthewell.uk
www.facebook.com/poisonthewell
