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Poison The Well: A Retrospective
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There will always be a special place in my heart for this band. Let's take a walk down memory lane...

Created by: flightoficarus | 08.05.2015


1. Poison The Well - You Come Before You
10/9.5/9: 10. After helping to solidify metalcore as a genre in the late 90's/early 00's, PTW seemed to mature beyond their initial vision and perhaps tire of the ever-growing list of imitators. Their only major label LP (American), You Come Before You represents the group's transcendence into new territories. The hardcore, post-hardcore, and indie influences show in the more varied songwriting and playing styles. Love that slide guitar. I try to listen to this album as often as possible. It's a great motivator.
2. Poison The Well - Opposite Of December
9.5/8.7/9: 9. Anyone who knows anything about metalcore knows this album. It may not seem like all that much now other than a concise, hard-hitting, typical take on the genre; but this was in many ways a blueprint for something that did not exist the way we (unfortunately) know it now. History aside, this IS a solid album. "Nerdy," "My Mirror No Longer Reflects," "12/23/93": The union of these heavy, melodeath-inspired hooks with punk rock, hardcore, and singing has rarely been done so well.
3. Poison The Well - The Tropic Rot
9.5/9/7: 8.5. I have mixed feelings about this album. On the one hand, it significantly dials back the exploration that PTW engaged in on Versions. On the other, it's almost as intense, well-defined, and fun as You Come Before You. Tracks like "Cinema" and "Makeshift Clay You" crank the surfer rock influence to 11 while tension-building "Pamplemousse" and "Antarctica Inside Me" display PTW's ability to build a heavy, reactive atmosphere despite dialing back the distortion. And those drums!
4. Poison The Well - Versions
7.5/8.5/9.5: 8. This is my least listened to release from the band. Coming off of a high with YCBY and hearing about this when I started college, I was psyched. I think the hype got to me. Instead of a blast of aggression, I got what seemed to be a grating chaotic mess. While I still have plenty of qualms with it to this day, as well as songs I outright don't like, I have come to appreciate the amount of creativity that went into it. It took balls to ditch the major label and put mandolins on something most kids probably wanted to mosh to. "Letter Thing," "Nagaina," "Naïve Monarch"?there are still plenty of great jams. The execution was just off.
5. Poison The Well - Tear From The Red
8/8.5/7: 7.5. This is not a bad album, though it often gets maligned when discussing PTW's discography. Despite sporting classics like "Botchla," "Turn Down Elliot," and "Sticks and Stones Never Made Sense," Tear From The Red continues with the sound from OoD and epitomizes the limitations of the genre as a pure form. It's a crossroads: stagnation or innovation. Luckily, PTW chose the latter, but TftR is still a fun piece of metalcore nostalgia.


Disclaimer: All top lists are unofficial and do not represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
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Comments

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Comments: 1   Visited by: 20 users
23.05.2015 - 14:24
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
I think you missed the full name of "Opposite Of December"
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Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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