HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: The Opposite Of December… A Season Of Separation – Poison The Well
Metalcore is not what it once was. That is a fact. Sure, revival bands across the world are managing to tap into the same vein that made the forerunners sound so vital and and raw, but the vast majority of bands have lost sight of what the genre began as.
One often overlooked facet of metalcore is a love for the melodrama. If you look at a lot of bands during this time, the lyrics and spoken word passages scream angst, a feeling of being unheard and the only person in the world to have experienced heartache and loss. This isn’t a criticism, for it lends itself perfectly with the harsh, often awkwardly produced (For in production terms these bands were still finding that sweet spot) music to create an uncomfortable style of beauty.
Just before the turn of the millennium, during the height of nu-metal fever and coming off the back of a well received (In underground circles anyway) EP in the form of Distance Only Makes The Heart Grow Fonder, POISON THE WELL released their debut album. Titled The Opposite Of December… A Season Of Separation, it immediately set tongues wagging. Raw, furious, catharsis laden and above all, heavy, the record was released on the still growing Trustkill Records and proved to be a landmark release for the band.
An often overlooked facet of this record is the musicianship. Sure, the band would grow in terms of songwriting and songcraft as they got older and wiser, but the talent on display here is not up for debate. A particular highlight is the drumming of Chris Hornbrook, who’s still developing style underpins so much of what the band are trying to do.
Despite the melancholic album title and chilling cover (Designed by the legendary Jacob Bannon of CONVERGE fame), it comes out of the blocks raging with 12/23/93 and the opening scream of “gouge out my eyes”. From then on it crunches, two steps and breakdowns it’s way into a sound that permeates throughout. The aural equivalent of smashing up your exes car on a snowy morning as tears freeze to your cheeks, vocalist Jeffrey Moreira channels his whole arsenal of anger and sadness into his pained screams and lyrics that would find their way onto the skin of many a heartbroken and romantically wronged individual over the years to follow.
There isn’t a moment of wasted space, no interludes or less than destructive tracks. Each piece of music is sonically similar yet beautifully different, with their own moments of powerful, sing along moments or catchy earworms. Artists Rendering Of Me is perhaps the album’s highest point, with the absolute emotional battering of “I could…never…swallow your false ideals…of a… lifeless…happy ending” being a constant staple of the band’s setlist and, upon their return to these shores at Outbreak Fest earlier this year, caused more than a few people of a certain age to scream along to the heavens.
It isn’t all broken hearts and songs to make you stare out of a rainy window though, as Nerdy, despite its title, stakes it’s claim to be one of the more romantic metallic hardcore songs of all time. ‘Why do your eyes paralyze me’ has undoubtedly been used as countless MSN screen names over the years and with good reason. There isn’t really a low point to the record, it’s pacing is perfect and the charm inflicted by the raw production is one that lasts long after the record has ended.
The album took POISON THE WELL to many next levels. The band embarked on a great deal of tours, perhaps to the detriment of Jeffrey‘s voice as for the last leg of the final tour for the record, he had to be replaced by From Autumn To Ashes vocalist Francis Mark as he suffered a pneumothorax, but the bands relentless touring had won them over many new fans by this point.
So many tried in the band’s wake to capture even a fraction of this albums power and haunted beauty. Not many succeeded. Other metalcore bands, ones with admittedly a bigger focus on the more metal aspects of the genre (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE being the prime example) took the limelight, the glory. Yet POISON THE WELL maintained their momentum with their follow-up, Tear From The Red and sacrificed none of their style to do so. In many ways, it was perhaps a less accessible record than The Opposite Of December… A Season Of Separation, despite more clean vocals making an appearance.
From then on, creatively more than critically, the band moved from strength to strength, never settling or looking to rehash the past. As the 25th Anniversary tour is set to continue going into 2025, POISON THE WELL can guarantee themselves an audience of those there at the time and those exposed to the album’s greatness after the fact, as it still remains a key influence to all metalcore revival bands.
The Opposite Of December… A Season Of Separation was originally released on December 14th, 1999 via Trustkill Records.
Like POISON THE WELL on Facebook.