ALBUM REVIEW: Peace In Place – Poison The Well
There’s a common trope of bands growing in stature following a break-up, then staging a comeback years later to previously unseen levels of hype. You could easily assume that POISON THE WELL are one such example, but the truth is they’ve been adored ever since they first emerged from the underground. 1999’s The Opposite Of December is an undisputed metalcore landmark, and there was genuine excitement in the UK scene when they first toured here. They weren’t arena fillers by any stretch, but they attracted a committed and deeply passionate following.
Despite a brief period with Atlantic Records though, they never attained the level of success they deserved and remained something of a cult band. They went on hiatus in 2010, but their fanbase never lost the enthusiasm. Peace In Place is their first full length album in over fifteen years, and there’s a tremendous weight of expectation on it. If you happened to catch their incendiary performance at Outbreak 2024, you’ll know they never lost their live chops, but can they still cut it in the studio?
Spoiler: yes. It’s a great album. Peace In Place feels like a time capsule. It’s aggressive and emotive, but like all the best pre-Alive Or Just Breathing metalcore, it hits different. The edges have not been sanded down, and they don’t stick to a single songwriting template. This album is a flashback to an era before metalcore got codified for easier consumption and is closer to bands like SANCTION than any of that MAY I ESCAPE IN REVERSE Octane FM garbage. For all we know, they could have recorded this in secret in 2005 and sat on it until now.
Wax Mask for instance, sounds like a lost POISON THE WELL classic. The melodic meanderings in the bridge are but a brief chance to catch your breath, most of its short run time is dominated by thundering riffs and larynx-wrecking roars. It’s an off-kilter opener, the musical equivalent of being torn to shreds by a very sad bear, and reassuringly similar to old staples like Botchla. Primal Bloom is similarly hectic, defined by rapid alterations between raw fury and dark melodicism, while Thoroughbreds has an urgency and introspection that brings to mind a more metallic AT THE DRIVE-IN.
All the chaos does mean that POISON THE WELL occasionally come across like a band who never evolved into their final form, and that works in their favour. You’d rarely hear anything like the stripped back intro and personality-crisis chorus of Everything Hurts from a modern metalcore band, even those who list these lads as an influence. Peace In Place is thoroughly uncommercial, and while that likely means they’ll spend their comeback in the same sized venues as last time, the people who turn up will adore them.
Clocking in at an efficient 36 minutes, it doesn’t outstay its welcome either. Peace In Place gets in, wrecks everything, has a good cry, then picks itself up and disappears. It’s a rugged, unpolished metalcore record that wears its flaws like trophies, and sounds like it was recorded live. POISON THE WELL aren’t blessed with a huge marketing budget or major label support, but they are an earnest band who carry themselves with a much-needed layer of authenticity. This is metalcore that was written in a garage after a ten-hour factory shift, get it in your heavily tattooed head.
Rating: 9/10
Peace In Place is set for release on March 20th via SharpTone Records.
Like POISON THE WELL on Facebook.