Florida’s Monumental Post-Metalcore Titans Poison The Well Dishevel The World With New Musical Derangement ‘Trembling Level’

“I don’t think metalcore could have made such an impact without a band like Poison The Well.” – Howard Jones (Killswitch Engage, Light The Torch).

“That band was incredible, and just looking at their progression through the records, the last two still stand up, and I wish they were still around because they were great.” – Keith Buckley (Every Time I Die, Many Eyes).

“They were an integral band in the crafting of the metalcore/melodic hardcore sound pre-End Of Heartache era Killswitch Engage.” – Davyd Winter-Bates (Bury Tomorrow).

As the idiom (arguably) goes: “The writing is on the wall”, but perhaps for the sake of this article, “the writing is on the Well”; that being Florida’s luminaries of metalcore Poison The Well, and what striking statements these highly prolific musicians have expressed about the genre’s ground-breakers.

Whether this is the first exposure into the trailblazer’s iconic sound for enthusiasts of heavy music, or perhaps the discovery was earlier in PTW’s amazing discography and tours throughout the planet Earth. Big Day Out 2004? Soundwave 2009? Their debut LP The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation released over 25 years ago? In essence, these details don’t really matter; what does matter is that for the first time in over 15 years, Poison The Well are no longer ‘Lost In Silence’ and have released their first new music to the exhilarating excitement of fans around the globe. Prepare to shudder in awe at the towering terrorific ‘Trembling Level’.

The band wastes no time in shaking the earth below their witnesses. After approximately one second, percussionist Chris Hornbrook, bassist Noah Harmon and guitarists Ryan Primack and Vadim Taver explode in discordant post-metalcore mayhem, with jarring breakdowns of mathcore magnificence and vocalist Jeffrey Moreira bursts in with his aggressive hardcore bellow: “As the walls heave in. As they exhale out. I synch my breath. To endure the strain.”

Poison The Well always knew how to make an entrance.

Fascinatingly former guitarist Derek Miller is listed as a composer on the song – although his exact role with ‘The Well is not fully known at this juncture, his phenomenal presence can be (gratefully) felt in these two-and-a-half minutes.

The outfit maintains a metallic hardcore intensity that they have been remarkably renowned for their entire career, however it is at the 38-second-mark where their true eccentric flair creeps in. A slight switch of tempo and that charismatic Chino Moreno motivated croon takes over, Moreira is beyond enchanting in his magical melody and recites his powerful poetry: “Hide myself inside a ward made of rope and cord” – the intermission is short-lived and the familiar ‘New Fast’ is awesomely activated again.

Just after the halfway point, Chris Hornbrook incredibly initiates a ground rattling drum build-up while Jeff effortlessly moves from a stimulating serenade to severe growls with the impactful: “Don’t you let the silhouettes lead you to the ocean floor”.

SILENCE…

*BOOM*

A resounding breakdown repeats with sirens and slide guitars in PTW’s famed charming chaos. It leaves all present to observe the marvellous monstrosity at a ‘Trembling Level’ of awe, but ‘Who Doesn’t Love a Good Dismemberment?’ Especially when it is Poison The Well.

“For me, I was trying to figure how to effectively incorporate elements from our whole discography into one song,” guitarist Ryan Primack reveals. “We ended up with this, and it has a little bit of everything we’ve done throughout the course of our existence.“

“Lyrically, it’s about tackling a fear,” says vocalist Jeff Moreira. “I tend to write based on personal experience. You’re approaching something you’re scared to do, going through it, and realizing the hardest parts are actually the ones you should be looking towards because those will lead you to success.”

The track was produced by the wondrous Grammy Award-winning musician/producer Will Putney (Better Lovers, Fit For An Autopsy, END) and shared online by SharpTone Records who has signed the act too.

Trembling yet?

Watch This Space, a new album was hinted at in 2024.

Words by Will Oakeshott @teenwolfwill

Stream ‘Trembling Level‘ here

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