REVIEW: Poison The Well - Peace In Place
- Amber Brooks
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
When an album is titled with anything to do with peace, it’s rarely peaceful. If it’s the first in almost seventeen years, you know you’re in for a riot. Floridian post-hardcore heavyweights POISON THE WELL are back in the game, continuing their lasting legacy of being one of the most influential metallic bands for the hardcore underground. Following almost three decades of that signature primal desire to create brutality, Peace In Place has pushed past innovation, into a fragmented landscape that bears the well-worn scars of their own discography.
Peace In Place is exactly where the band wants to be - caught between that well-earned nostalgia for long-time fans, whilst also being able to break the fast with a bold evolution of their sound. This is far from a comeback record, free from ‘gimmicks’ and ‘sell-outs’. POISON THE WELL are in a very different world since 2009’s The Tropic Riot, inflated by the stratospheric rise (and endless comparisons of influence) of artists like BRING ME THE HORIZON, NORMA JEAN and BAD OMENS. Whilst it’s easy to claim that in the time the band has been away POISON THE WELL have finally been given their flowers, this new album is the antithesis of arrogance, bleeding with authenticity and deep introspection.
In conversation with Kerrang, it’s clear that vocalist Jeffrey Moreira found their bombshell return to the touring scene a reassuring place of self-confidence for the band. Large crowds at Outbreak and Furnace Fest gave the band a much-needed momentum for new music, vastly different from their small-venue shows they left back in the noughties. Underdogs by design, their twisted manifesto of unpredictability haunts the record twice in Moreira’s softly sung vocals: “I’ll change my colours and show myself out.”
POISON THE WELL have never made an easy record. Sounding as raw as when guitarist Ryan Primack and drummer Chris Hornbrook started the band in high school, alongside guitarist Vadim Taver and bassist Noah Harmon, in the space of the record, they leave the door open to constant genre experimentation and attempts to tame the extreme. True to self and previous records in this approach, opener Wax Mask slugs djent-laden riffs and confrontational vocals. In desolate moments between the abrasion, fantastic moments of melodic contrast burst through like dappled sunlight. Primal Bloom continues the complex torment, adjusting to a more commercial tone that still wrecks havoc on the record.
Thoroughbreds retorts with a looser punk-styled sound, reminiscent of ONE STEP CLOSER, as Everything Hurts twists the knife into the calmness with a vengeance. Gorgeous intertextured emotions peel themselves in layers from Peace In Place, exposing Moreira’s mortality in an organic progression. Whilst at times this feels imperfect and fleeting, with this lighter sound pushing against the high expectations of the record, its a moment for the listener to reconnect.
Weeping Tones - despite what the title suggests - is airy and anthemic, centered around big emotional choruses. Feeling a world away from the darkness over the beginning of the record, twinned with A Wake Of Vultures, they are the standouts of the record. Gravity returns with Bad Bodies, and the balladic Drifting Without End drives the self-remorse home with prog-infused complexity. Melted brings the power back for one more refrain before a damaging final retort from Plague Them The Most.
Peace In Place is a tightly woven tapestry, shifting between this GOJIRA-inspired ferocity in to the upbeat haze of the middle segment of the record. It bookends with aggressive clamour, opting to use the meat of this metalcore sandwich as standout statement pieces that dazzle in a live context. Each component, especially the guitar and vocals, are structured and technically impressive.
In some ways, POISON THE WELL, having spent so much time away from making music, feels like an entirely new project in places. Maybe as a product of crossed wires or unrealistic expectations, this needs more time - and more music - to root a solid identity. Peace In Place feels transitionary, as everyone has to start from somewhere, and perfection is never obtainable. The band have always felt both of the moment and beyond their time. This record is no exception.
Score: 7/10
Peace In Place will be released on 20th March 2026 via SharpTone Records.
Words: Amber Brooks
Photos: Poison The Well
Comments