REVIEW: Poison The Preacher - Things I Want

Emerging from the fertile underground of Bogotá, Colombia, comes the burgeoning crossover heavyweights POISON THE PREACHER with their latest EP Things I Want. The four track release is inspired by ambition, obsession, and unattainable dreams, and has the heaviness to discuss all of those topics with all the gravity necessary. The EP’s artwork mirrors those themes as it features a mutilated Daruma doll, a traditional Japanese symbol of perseverance and fulfilled goals, but with one eye torn out in a twisted version of the original.

“The EP talks about broken dreams, toxic purposes, things that you would give your entire life to, but they may never become true,” vocalist/guitarist Juan Pablo Carrera explains. “It’s a testament to obsession and ambition, in both a good and a bad way. It’s okay to have a purpose, to have a dream that you want with all your heart, but you can’t let it consume you and destroy your life.”

Opening on the title track, there’s no fat to trim as the hardcore crew blast into Things I Want with a vengeance. Combining their love of hardcore with their love of metal works perfectly, as this whole release shares elements of both without compromising any essential elements - the attitude and structure of hardcore pervades everything, but with the riffs and violence - and sometimes the vocals - of death metal.With a feature from Sydney’s hardcore heroes in SPEED, it makes for an immense start to the EP.

Track two of the four, Last Time I’ve Seen the Sun, provides some influence from traditional Latin American music and instrumentation as it opens with an upbeat and sunny sample of the same, but then sharply detours into a hard and fast riff that truly kicks off the song. With a headbanging breakdown that’ll get anyone gurning, this is a blast and needs to be danced to.

As we reach Ran Out of Options, the death metal influence creeps up higher on an icier opening that has the weight of glaciers crushing through it, and doesn’t let up until the shockingly speedy finale Chicken Out changes into sixth gear to race to the finish line. With breakdowns and squealing guitars galore, it’s a fantastic finish to a stellar EP.

Being the first band from Colombia to be directly booked for both Wacken Open Air and Obscene Extreme is no mean feat, but someone needed to be first - and with an EP as strong as this, it’s clear to see why it was POISON THE PREACHER. Their hard-hitting hardcore is full of energy, well-written, and overflowing with groove.

Score: 8/10

Things I Want will be released on July 17th 2026 via Seek and Strike Records.

Words: Jasmine Longhurst

Photos: Poison The Preacher