Poison The Well (band)
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Poison the Well is an American
metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...
band from
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
who were last signed to
Ferret Music Ferret Music was an American independent record label turned Warner Music Group subsidiary, founded in 1996. The label is owned by NORA's vocalist, Carl Severson, and based in West Windsor, New Jersey. Ferret recently started an imprint called N ...
. In 2010, they announced a hiatus to explore other interests. Lead guitarist
Ryan Primack Poison the Well is an American metalcore band from Miami, Florida who were last signed to Ferret Music. In 2010, they announced a hiatus to explore other interests. Lead guitarist Ryan Primack and drummer Christopher Hornbrook were the only r ...
and drummer Christopher Hornbrook were the only remaining founding members, although vocalist Jeffrey Moreira featured on all five of their full-length albums. The band has since performed several reunion shows: two in 2015, eleven in 2016 and one in 2020.


History


Formation: Doubting Thomas to An Acre Lost (1997–1998)

Poison the Well was originally formed under the name Doubting Thomas by lead vocalist Aryeh Lehrer and lead guitarist Ryan Primack in the autumn of 1997. Lehrer was responsible for coining the name Doubting Thomas. The band was originally based in
Coral Springs, Florida Coral Springs, officially the City of Coral Springs, is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located approximately northwest of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fort Lauderdale. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. C ...
, where the two attended
J. P. Taravella High School J. P. Taravella High School is a secondary school located in Coral Springs, Florida which teaches grades 9–12. The school is a part of the Broward County Public Schools district. The school was named after Joseph Phillip Taravella (1919–1978), ...
, but later moved to a rehearsal space in
Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
. Lehrer, who had previously played in the band Reaching Out, recruited rhythm guitarist Russel Saunders, formerly of the band Side Order, and bassist Shane Halpern who had recently moved from North Carolina down to Florida. In December 1997, Doubting Thomas was renamed An Acre Lost, a name Saunders' girlfriend came up with.


''The Opposite of December... A Season of Separation'' (1999–2001)

From October 2–10, 1999, Poison the Well recorded their first full-length album, '' The Opposite of December... A Season of Separation'', again with producer Jeremy Staska at Studio 13. The band invited former vocalists Hosein and Lehrer to provide backing vocals on the song "Not Within Arms Length", the lyrics of which had been written by Hosein before he left the band in 1998. Bassist Landsman was kicked out of the band in late September 2000 due to ongoing personal differences. Landsman had been the vocalist in the Florida metalcore band Until the End and would later front the band Target Nevada with several ex-Poison the Well members. Nevertheless, Landsman agreed to honour Poison the Well's already-booked upcoming show on October 6, 2000 at Club Q in Davie, Florida. The show was a landmark event, not only as Landsman's final show with Poison the Well, but because it also celebrated the release of Until the End's debut extended play, already released on September 12, 2000 through
Equal Vision Records Equal Vision Records is an independent record label based in Albany, New York. It was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo, singer for the punk bands Youth of Today, Shelter, and Better Than a Thousand. The label originally existed solely to ...
. Despite rumors that he walking off stage mid-way through their show, Landsman finished Poison the Well's set and went on to perform with Until the End later that evening. However, Hornbrook was later asked to leave Until the End at Landsman's insistence. Michael Gordillo was immediately announced as Landsman's replacement. Gordillo's first show with Poison the Well was on October 20, 2000 at the Downtime in Manhattan, New York. Poison the Well continued touring for most of 2001 in promotion of ''The Opposite of December... A Season of Separation''. They performed at the Board Festival in Boston, Massachusetts, Hellfest in East Syracuse, New York, Monster Fest in Burlington, Vermont and Krazy Fest 4 in Louisville, Kentucky In February 2001, Gordillo departed; a month later he was replaced by California-based bassist Javier Van Huss, formerly of the bands
Enewetak Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...
,
Eighteen Visions Eighteen Visions is an American metalcore band from Orange County, California, formed in October 1995. The band broke up in April 2007, less than a year after their major label debut was released through Epic and Trustkill Records. After ove ...
, Throwdown, Breakneck,
Bleeding Through Bleeding Through is an American metalcore band from Orange County, California, formed in 1999. In 2004, ''Revolver'' magazine hailed Bleeding Through as one of eight bands ushering in the "Future of Metal" cover story, and '' Spin'' called Ble ...
and Wrench. From mid-March to mid-April 2001, Poison the Well toured with
Candiria Candiria are an American progressive metal band from Brooklyn, New York. Formed in 1992, the band was part of the second wave of New York hardcore, but subsequently expanded its performance to also play jazz, hip hop and progressive rock. The ...
,
Origin Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics and manga * Origin (comics), ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002 * The Origin (Buffy comic), ''The Origin'' (Bu ...
and
Cryptopsy Cryptopsy is a Canadian technical death metal band from Montreal, formed in 1988. History Necrosis (1988–1992) Necrosis was formed in April 1988 by drummer Mike Atkin, guitarist Steve Thibault and vocalist Dan "Lord Worm" Greening, initially ...
. Bassist Iano Dovi, formerly of the band Pintsize, joined in August 2001, just in time for a two-week tour with
Unearth Unearth is an American metalcore band from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 1998, the group has released seven studio albums. History Early career (1998–2002) Unearth was formed by Trevor Phipps, Buz McGrath, Ken Susi, Mike Rudberg, a ...
,
God Forbid God Forbid is an American heavy metal band formed in East Brunswick, New Jersey in 1996. History Early career (1999-2004) Building up a following in the late 1990s by touring with bands such as GWAR, Nile, Cradle of Filth and Candiria, God Fo ...
and Martyr AD across Canada, the Northeast and the Midwest.


Unreleased splits and ''Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder'' reissue (2000–2002)

In August 2000, Poison the Well announced that a split 7" vinyl was in development for release through a one-off deal with Pennsylvania-based record label
Surprise Attack Records Surprise Attack Records, sometimes called SA Mob is an independent record label based in Philadelphia, although the bands are from Miami, Elkview, Erie, and even Adelaide, Australia. Surprise Attack Records signs Hardcore punk bands. In the early 2 ...
and Georgia-based record label Jawk Records. The band sharing the split was originally meant to be their touring mates Twelve Tribes and Poison the Well recorded two exclusive songs in early October 2000: "Sticks and Stones Never Made Sense" and a cover of
The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...
' "
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...
". These were the band's first recordings played in
Drop C tuning Drop C tuning is an alternative guitar tuning where at least one string has been lowered to a C, but most commonly refers to CGCFAD, which can be described as D tuning with a 6th string dropped to C, or drop D tuning transposed down a whole st ...
and to feature their new bassist Mike Gordillo. By November 2000, the split, which had been scheduled for release in December 2000, had been pushed back to late January–early February 2001 and Twelve Tribes was replaced by Florida-based band A New Kind of American Saint. Poison the Well had been touring with A New Kind of American Saint's guitarist Michael Peters the month prior. The second release with Undecided Records was to be another split 7", this one with
Eighteen Visions Eighteen Visions is an American metalcore band from Orange County, California, formed in October 1995. The band broke up in April 2007, less than a year after their major label debut was released through Epic and Trustkill Records. After ove ...
. The split for Undecided Records was to feature a Metallica cover from each of the bands as part of the record label's '' Crush 'Em All'' series, which had already seen a split by
Shai Hulud Shai Hulud is an American metalcore band formed in Pompano Beach, Florida, in 1995, and later based in Poughkeepsie, New York. The band is named after the giant sandworms in Frank Herbert's novel ''Dune''. The two mainstay members of Shai Hul ...
and
BoySetsFire boysetsfire is an American post-hardcore band from Newark, Delaware. Formed in October 1994, boysetsfire is composed of guitarists Chad Istvan and Josh Latshaw, vocalist Nathan Gray, and bassists Chris Rakus and Robert Ehrenbrand. Lyrical theme ...
released as Volume 1 in March 2000. The series was also planning other splits for Indecision and Walls of Jericho (Volume 2), Today Is the Day and
Supermachiner Supermachiner was an experimental music project that Jacob Bannon and Ryan Parker began writing for in 1994 and soon became a collection of four track recordings. When Converge had about six months of down time as the band searched for a drummer, ...
(Volume 4) and Disembodied (Volume 5); Poison the Well and Eighteen Visions were to be the third release in the series with a tentative release date for the summer of 2001. In January 2001, the ''Crush 'Em All'' series switched from 7" vinyl to compact discs. Poison the Well planned to record a cover of Metallica's "...And Justice for All", but due to complications with Trustkill Records, were unable to recorded it and their split with Eighteen Visions was shelved. Poison the Well's split for Surprise Attack Records and Jawk Records was also going through delays. Although both Poison the Well and A New Kind of American Saint had recorded their songs, Trustkill Records was unhappy that Poison the Well would be releasing new and original material on another record label. Trustkill Records originally wanted both songs, "Sticks and Stones Never Made Sense" and their cover of The Smashing Pumpkins' "Today", to appear on their forthcoming sophomore full-length (which later took shape as ''Tear from the Red''). On February 11, 2001 it was announced that an agreement had been struck with Trustkill Records but that it could not be released until after Poison the Well's new album was out (i.e. not until later in 2002), leading A New Kind of American Saint to drop off the project. Only week later, on February 18, 2001, it was reported that Throwdown, which featured members of Eighteen Visions, would replace A New Kind of American Saint on the split 7" vinyl. Throwdown immediately planned to enter the studio to record two new songs: "False Idols" and a cover of
Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...
's "
Say It Ain't So "Say It Ain't So" is a song by the American rock band Weezer. It was released as the third and final single from the band's self-titled 1994 debut album. Written by frontman Rivers Cuomo, the song came to be after he had all the music finished ...
". But Throwdown's recording session was pushed back by several months due to their touring schedule. In March 2001, Surprise Attack Records used the recording of "Sticks and Stones Never Made Sense" on their Various Artists sampler ''Budget Sampler:'' ''It's All About the Money'', co-released with Canadian record labels Goodfellow Records and Redstar Records. Poison the Well then performed their cover of "Today" at Hellfest 2001 on Friday, July 6, 2001 at Liquids in East Syracuse, New York. Throwdown finally entered the studio to record their side of the split in mid-August 2001; by this time, their choice cover had changed to
Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first five ...
' "Around the Fur". "Sticks and Stones Never Made Sense" was eventually re-recorded for Poison the Well's sophomore full-length ''Tear from the Red'' in October–November 2001. Throwdown's original song "False Idols" was also later re-recorded for their full-length album '' Haymaker''. Jawk Records announced that the artwork for the split was designed in October 2001, and in January 2002 the test presses of the 7" vinyl had been received. Nevertheless, the release was ultimately shelved. The original recording of "Sticks and Stones Never Made Sense" was later used as a bonus track on the Japanese version of ''You Come Before You'', released by
Warner Music Japan Warner Music Group's labels include the following. Flagship labels *Atlantic Records *Elektra Records *Parlophone Records *Warner Records Atlantic Records Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * Nipsey Hussle, All Money In * Mike Caren, Artist Par ...
on October 29, 2003, and appeared on the b-side to the 10" vinyl single for "Ghostchant" (both listed it as "Sticks and Stones Never Made Sense (Demo)". The band later posted it on their Myspace page on October 10, 2006. Poison the Well's cover of "Today" was never released; the band later recorded another The Smashing Pumpkins cover, "
Soma Soma may refer to: Businesses and brands * SOMA (architects), a New York–based firm of architects * Soma (company), a company that designs eco-friendly water filtration systems * SOMA Fabrications, a builder of bicycle frames and other bicycle ...
" for the
ReIgnition Recordings ReIgnition Recordings was an independent record label releasing largely, but not solely, punk and post-hardcore albums. It was founded in Ithaca, NY in 1999, and operated under the name Law of Inertia Records after the magazine founded by Ross S ...
Various Artists compilation '' The Killer in You: A Tribute to Smashing Pumpkins''.


''Tear from the Red'' (2001–2002)

Poison the Well had originally planned to record their sophomore album in April 2001, after returning from a booked Asian tour, with a scheduled release date of August 1, 2001. At that time, the release was to be made up of eleven original songs and a cover song. The cover song was quickly dropped and the band announced that they would instead track twelve original songs. Once the Asian tour was cancelled, the band took the opportunity to spend more time writing the album and opted to tour North America during the spring and summer of 2001. ''Tear from the Red'' was written over a period of one year, from the summer of 2000 to the summer of 2001, during which time the band played with five different bassist. Landsman, Gordillo, Van Huss, Albert and Dovi each contributed to the songwriting and arrangements. Jacob Bannon was originally consulted to design the artwork for ''Tear from the Red'' but the band instead hired
Demon Hunter Demon Hunter is an American Christian metal band from Seattle, Washington, started in 2000 by brothers Don Clark and Ryan Clark. Although the brothers created the band together, only Ryan remains, since Don left the band to take care of his ...
bassist Don Clark at Asterik Studio. The compact disc edition booklet was designed to include a semi-transparent parchment paper after every page. Poison the Well planned to release ''
Tear from the Red ''Tear from the Red'' is the sophomore full-length album by American metalcore band Poison the Well. It was released on February 19, 2002 via Trustkill Records. The album was the band's first release to appear on ''Billboards Independent Al ...
'' on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2002. However, the date fell on a Thursday and Trustkill Records was forced to work with music industry standards of releasing new music on Tuesdays. The date was therefore set for the first Tuesday after Valentine's Day, February 19, 2002. Trustkill Records began accepting pre-orders on February 8, 2002, and any orders placed prior to the release date included a free 18" by 24" poster. Poison the Well then reunited with Hatebreed for the Perseverance Tour 2002 which took the bands through the Midwest and West Coast from February 28 to March 19, 2002. They were accompanied by
Bane Bane may refer to: Fictional characters * Bane (DC Comics), an adversary of Batman * Bane (''Harry Potter''), a centaur in the ''Harry Potter'' series * Bane (''The Matrix''), a character in the ''Matrix'' film trilogy * Bane the Druid, a Gu ...
and What Feeds the Fire on all dates and Hemlock for one of the legs; Bane, however, had to pull out towards the end of the tour when their close friend Steve Neale passed away. It was while Poison the Well was on this tour that ''Tear from the Red'' blew up in the media. The album entered ''Billboard'''s charts on March 9, 2002, reaching number 23 on the
Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...
chart and number 36 on the
Heatseekers Albums Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
charts. ''Tear from the Red'' also entered ''
CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...
'''s charts, topping the Most Added chart, reaching number 1 on the Loud Rock College chart, number 4 on the Radio 200 and Loud Rock Crucial Spin charts and number 22 on the Retail 100 chart. The band immediately began to be courted by major record labels, much to the dissatisfaction of Trustkill Records, who attempted to renew their soon-expiring contract. Nevertheless, Poison the Well ended up signing with
Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group is a management company, artist development, and record label located in West Hollywood, California in the United States. Current client roster includes AFI, Alice in Chains, Avenged Sevenfold, Blaqk Audio ...
, which was operating as an independent imprint with secured financing through
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
. Poison the Well welcomed new bassist Geoffrey Bergman, formerly of
Curl Up and Die cURL (pronounced like "curl", UK: , US: ) is a computer software project providing a library (libcurl) and command-line tool (curl) for transferring data using various network protocols. The name stands for "Client URL". History cURL was fi ...
, in mid-May 2002, but he did not officially take up the position until June 1, 2002 when the band embarked on a tour with
Strung Out Strung Out is an American punk rock band from Simi Valley, California, formed in 1989. They are known mainly for their musical style, which fuses aspects of melodic punk rock, progressive rock and heavy metal to form their primary sound. They ...
,
Rise Against Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. The group's current line-up comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath, lead guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes. Rooted in hardcor ...
and
Rufio Rufio was an American rock band from Rancho Cucamonga, California, United States, in 2000. They released four studio albums: ''Perhaps, I Suppose'' (2001); ''MCMLXXXV'' (2003); ''The Comfort of Home'' (2005); and'' Anybody Out There'' (2010). ...
The bands hit the road from June 1–29, 2002 playing in the South, East Coast, Midwest and West Coast. From July 9 to August 9, 2002, Poison the Well toured across the entire United States supporting
Kittie Kittie is a Canadian Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in London, Ontario in 1996. All of their material has been released through independent record labels, which to date includes six studio albums, one video album, four extended plays ...
, Shadows Fall and
Killswitch Engage Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbanding of Overcast (band), Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joe ...
. Due to van troubles upon leaving Florida, however, Poison the Well missed the first two shows of the tour; Killswitch Engage also missed the first couple of dates because of their performance at
Hellfest Hellfest (), also called Hellfest Summer Open Air, is a rock festival focusing on heavy metal music, held annually in June in Clisson, France. Its high attendance makes it the French music festival with the largest turnover. It is also one of ...
. On August 27, 2002, Poison the Well played a surprise show at Kaffe Krystal in Miami, Florida, disguised under the name Tear from the Red on the bill. The event highlighting local Florida hardcore band Destro's final show, but also celebrated the release of Poison the Well's ''Tear from the Red'' 7" vinyl singles on Trustkill Records and the band's first DVD ''Tear from the Road''. The DVD included a documentary and live footage of the band on their recent tours promoting ''Tear from the Red'', along with the music video for "Botchla" and a making-of the video feature. The DVD was edited by Christopher Sims through his film production company TimeCode Entertainment, and was marketed through Trustkill Records and Velvet Hammer's promotional division Streetwise Concepts & Culture.


''You Come Before You'' and abandoned album (2002–2005)

The success of ''Tear from the Red'' and their continuous touring schedule helped Poison The Well gain the attention of some major labels, which had started to take interest in bands coming from the hardcore scene. The band signed with
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
in 2002 and started writing for their third studio album, ''
You Come Before You ''You Come Before You'' is the third full-length album by American metalcore band Poison the Well (band), Poison the Well. It was released on July 1, 2003. It is the band's only release on a major label (Atlantic Records). More than 115,500 copi ...
''. Poison the Well wanted to continue the evolution of their sound and felt that they needed a team of people who understood where they were going and what they wanted to do. They recorded with Swedish producers Pelle Henricsson and Eskil Lövström. Both had worked on many influential mid to late nineties Swedish hardcore records, including
Refused Refused (also known as the Refused) is a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå and formed in 1991. Refused is composed of vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarist Kristofer Steen, drummer David Sandström, and bassist Magnus Flagge. Guit ...
's ''
Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent ''Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent'' is the second full-length album by Swedish hardcore punk band Refused. It was released in 1996 through Victory Records, Startrec and We Bite on CD, tape and 12" vinyl; and reissued by Burning Heart Reco ...
'' and ''
The Shape of Punk to Come ''The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombination in 12 Bursts'', often shortened to ''The Shape of Punk to Come'', is the third album by Swedish hardcore punk band Refused, released on 27 October 1998 through Burning Heart Records. Although ...
''. The band first recorded in Van Nuys, California at Sound City Studios and completed the rest at Tonteknik Recording AB in Umeå, Sweden. After the record was complete, the band started a year and a half tour cycle that took them to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. Towards the end, many of the band members were worn out and unsure if they wanted to continue with Poison the Well. Having experienced some level of success with their previous record, ''You Come Before You'', a long and hard touring cycle left certain members of the band disenchanted. In the summer of 2004, guitarist Derek Miller quit the band. Miller had been in Poison the Well for all three prior releases and was a major part of the writing process. Poison The Well had been in the middle of pre-production for an entire record's worth of material when Miller announced his departure. On December 10, 2004, it was announced that Poison the Well would be covering a
The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...
song for the
ReIgnition Recordings ReIgnition Recordings was an independent record label releasing largely, but not solely, punk and post-hardcore albums. It was founded in Ithaca, NY in 1999, and operated under the name Law of Inertia Records after the magazine founded by Ross S ...
Various Artists tribute compilation '' The Killer in You: A Tribute to Smashing Pumpkins''. Although Poison the Well had previously recorded a cover of "Today" in October 2000, which remained unreleased, they instead chose to re-enter a studio and record a new cover of "
Soma Soma may refer to: Businesses and brands * SOMA (architects), a New York–based firm of architects * Soma (company), a company that designs eco-friendly water filtration systems * SOMA Fabrications, a builder of bicycle frames and other bicycle ...
". ''The Killer in You: A Tribute to Smashing Pumpkins'' was eventually released digitally on November 15, 2005 and on compact disc three months later on January 31, 2006.


''Versions'' (2005–2008)

Poison the Well eventually regrouped, added guitarist Jason Boyer to replace Miller, and started working on new musical ideas that would be the early stages of their fourth studio album, ''
Versions Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * ''Ve ...
''. After months of working and writing material, the band set off in early 2005 to work and record with Pelle Henricsson and Eskil Lövström at Tonteknik Studios in Umeå, Sweden. After completing the first two recording sessions and returning home, Poison the Well announced that they were parting ways with Atlantic Records after only one album because of "creative differences". Atlantic Records had given full creative control with the writing and recording of ''You Come Before You'', not interfering and allowing the band to do what they pleased. But, after not seeing eye to eye on the direction Poison The Well had decided to move, Atlantic agreed to let the band go. Even though the band had no label, they returned to writing material for the third and final session. The band had been in contact with
Ferret Music Ferret Music was an American independent record label turned Warner Music Group subsidiary, founded in 1996. The label is owned by NORA's vocalist, Carl Severson, and based in West Windsor, New Jersey. Ferret recently started an imprint called N ...
president Carl Severson about signing with the label. Severson had been friends and a fan of the band for many years and expressed interest in signing them. After signing at the end of 2006, the band left once again for Sweden to finish up the record. ''Versions'' was released on Ferret Music on April 2, 2007 in Europe and April 3, 2007 worldwide. On February 22, 2007 they began touring in support of the album. The band also brought on Brad Clifford of Since by Man on guitar and their former guitar tech
Bradley Grace Bradley James Grace (born 1982) is an Irish-American musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist for the American metalcore band Poison the Well. He is the longest-tenured bassist in the band's history, having joined in 20 ...
on bass towards the end of this tour cycle. On March 29, 2007,
Undecided Records Undecided Records was an American independent record label established in 1998 by Clifford Wiener and Alexander Kenny. The record company was founded in Loxahatchee, Florida but its headquarters moved around in various parts of Palm Beach Coun ...
released ''Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder'' digitally.


''The Tropic Rot'' (2008–2009)

The writing process for ''
The Tropic Rot ''The Tropic Rot'' is the fifth (and thus far final) studio album by American hardcore punk band Poison the Well. The album was released on July 7, 2009 through Ferret Music. The album was originally intended to be produced by J. Robbins, howeve ...
'' started a few weeks after Poison the Well finished up the touring cycle for ''Versions''. The band wanted to make a record that was more focused musically and bigger sonically. Poison the Well wrote the entire record in four and a half months in a condemned and purportedly haunted bar, the remnants of Ray's Downtown Blues which is now Longboards, in West Palm Beach, Florida. ''The Tropic Rot'' had originally been slated to be made with producer J. Robbins, but had to be cancelled due to a serious family emergency.
Steve Evetts Steve Evetts is an American record producer who has produced music for Alesana, Poison the Well, A Static Lullaby, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Sepultura, Symphony X, Saves the Day, Lifetime, Kid Dynamite, Hightower, Story of the Year, Every T ...
was picked among other potential producers the band thought could capture the record the way they wanted it and could start as soon as possible. The record was recorded at Castle Oaks Production and The Candy Shop studios and was released on July 7, 2009 through Ferret Music. The album charted at No. 180 in its first week of release on the ''Billboard'' 200. While on the first stop of their September 2009 tour with
Billy Talent Billy Talent is a Canadian Rock music, rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with lead vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jonathan Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. There have been no lineup change ...
, Poison The Well was robbed at a tour stop in
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
. As the band was asleep in their hotel, thieves drove off with their van and trailer containing all of their musical gear, band merchandise, and a majority of their personal possessions and clothes. After taking a few days off to get a new van and obtain some temporary gear, the band quickly produced and began selling T-shirts to raise money and buy new equipment, with the shirts containing a detailed description of all musical gear stolen including guitar and amplifier serial numbers.


Hiatus, external projects and reissues (2010–2012)

On July 14, 2010, after eight months of inactivity, Poison the Well released a press statement announcing a hiatus to "explore other interests." Since then, drummer
Chris Hornbrook Christopher Aaron Hornbrook is an American drummer and a founding member of Metalcore/Post-hardcore band, Poison the Well. He also is working with Dhani Harrison and Killer Be Killed and The Black Queen singer, Greg Puciato. From 2014 to 2018 ...
has been doing session work as well as drumming for LA based electronic dance music band
Big Black Delta Big Black Delta is a solo project of Mellowdrone vocalist/bassist Jonathan Bates. History Bates began the project in 2010 after becoming frustrated with the logistics of a band. Thanks to help from Alessandro Cortini, of Nine Inch Nails, he di ...
and New Jersey post-hardcore band,
Senses Fail Senses Fail is an American rock band formed in Ridgewood, New Jersey, in 2001. Founded by vocalist James "Buddy" Nielsen, drummer Dan Trapp, guitarists Garrett Zablocki and Dave Miller, and bassist James Gill (replaced by Mike Glita shortly afte ...
. Ryan Primack has still been involved with music, working with his former bandmate Derek Miller's band, Sleigh Bells, as their production manager and second live guitar player.


Reunion shows (2015, 2016, 2020, 2021)

In May 2015, Poison the Well reformed for two reunion shows: a warm-up headlining show on May 15 at the
Music Hall of Williamsburg Music Hall of Williamsburg (formerly Northsix) is a New York City venue located at 66 North 6th Street in the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. The venue is operated by The Bowery Presents, a group stemming from Bower ...
in Brooklyn, New York, and a performance at the Skate and Surf festival on May 17 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Beginning with these shows, the band performed with Primack on lead guitar, Hornbrook on drums, Moreira on vocals and Grace on bass; the same core members that had participated in the band prior to their hiatus, with the exception of rhythm guitarist Clifford. The 2015 shows featured rhythm guitar player
Ariel Arro Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...
, formerly of the Florida hardcore band
Glasseater Glasseater was a post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. ...
. In 2016, Poison the Well regrouped for a total of eleven shows, performed between June and August. Poison the Well was scheduled to perform at the Psycho Las Vegas festival in Las Vegas, Nevada in August 2020 and at Furnace Fest in Birmingham, Alabama in September 2020, but due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, both events were postponed. The band was quickly re-scheduled to appear at the 2021 edition of Psycho Las Vegas, due to take place between August 20–22, 2021 and at the 2021 edition of Furnace Fest, due to take place between September 24–26, 2021.


Members

Current lineup * Ryan Primack – lead guitar (1997—present) * Christopher Hornbrook – drums (1997, 1998–present) * Jeffrey Moreira – lead vocals (1998–present) *
Bradley Grace Bradley James Grace (born 1982) is an Irish-American musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist for the American metalcore band Poison the Well. He is the longest-tenured bassist in the band's history, having joined in 20 ...
– bass (2007—present) * Vadim Taver – rhythm guitar (2016, 2020—present) Former members and touring musicians * Aryeh Lehrer – lead vocals (1997–1999) * Derek Chamorro – lead vocals (1997) * Duane Hosein – lead vocals (1998) *
Alan Landsman Alan Landsman is an American former vocalist and bass guitarist, noted for having played in several Florida-based metalcore bands, including Poison the Well, Until the End and Target Nevada. He also worked for the independent record label Eu ...
– lead vocals (1998), bass (1998–2000) * Dennis Pase – drums (1997–1998) * Shane Halpern – bass (1997), lead vocals (1997–1998) * Andrew Abramowitz – bass (1997–1998), rhythm guitar (1998) *
Jeronimo Gomez Jeronimo Enrique Gomez (born August 19, 1976) is an American guitarist, bass guitarist, musician, songwriter and designer. Originally from McAllen, Texas, Gomez grew up in Davie, Florida, where he notably played in the melodic hardcore band As ...
– bass (1998) * Michael Gordillo – bass (2000–2001) * Javier Van Huss – bass (2001) * Albert – bass (2001) * Iano Dovi – bass (2001–2002) * Nicolas Schuhmann – bass (2002) * Geoffrey Bergman – bass (2002–2004) * Benjamin Brown – bass (2004–2006) * Michael MacIvor – bass (2006–2007) * Thomas Cavanaugh – bass (2007) * James Johnson – bass *
Stephen Looker Morning Again is an American metalcore band from Florida. They were known for their metallic sound as well as for their straight edge, Veganism, vegan, anti-religious and Anti-statism, anti-government ideals. The band was a "sister band" to Cultu ...
– lead guitar (1999) * José Martinez – lead guitar (1999–2000) * Russel Saunders – rhythm guitar (1997–1998) * Derek Miller – rhythm guitar (1998–2000, 2000, 2000–2004, 2015) * Matthew Tackett – rhythm guitar (2000) * Michael Peters – rhythm guitar (2000) * Jason Boyer – rhythm guitar (2004–2006) * Bradley Clifford – rhythm guitar (2006–2010) *
Ariel Arro Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...
– rhythm guitar (2015) * Peter Allen – rhythm guitar (2016)


Timeline

* Note that the Studio album and EP bars represent the release dates, not the recording dates; membership often changed between the two events.


Discography


Studio albums


Extended plays


Singles


Music videos


Accolades


Notes

*A For its original 2003 release in the United States, "Ghostchant" was released as a
double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
single with "Zombies Are Good for Your Health".


References


External links


Official Facebook Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poison The Well (Band) 1997 establishments in Florida American post-hardcore musical groups Atlantic Records artists Eulogy Recordings artists Ferret Music artists Good Life Recordings artists Hardcore punk groups from Florida Heavy metal musical groups from Florida Metalcore musical groups from Florida Musical groups established in 1997 Musical groups disestablished in 2010 Musical groups from Coral Springs, Florida Poison the Well Punk rock groups from Florida Rise Records artists Roadrunner Records artists Trustkill Records artists Undecided Records artists