Few bands had more of an impact on metalcore and post-hardcore at the dawn of the new millennium than Poison The Well. Emerging at the tail end of 1999 with their debut full-length The Opposite Of December, they went on to influence countless metalcore and post-hardcore bands that would emerge in the coming years. They were one of the first bands in the scene to get signed by a major label, and subsequent albums like Tear From The Red and You Come Before You (where they moved to Atlantic Records) garnered huge accolades as well as sported increased production values.
It was after these records that the band’s increasingly experimental songwriting took shape. Particularly on what’s presumably their final record, The Tropic Rot, which was released on July 7th, 2009. The album itself is a particularly good blend of all their previous records, but leans more experimental in a way that many fans at the time were not expecting.
Opening 1-2 punch “Exist Underground” and “Sparks It Will Rain” are just as effective as anything done on Poison The Well’s four previous full-length albums, but there’s something different about the proceedings on this record that make it well worth your time. Perhaps it’s fact that the album is closer to Poison The Well’s traditional sound that a totally experimental effort, but the fact is that still maintains a direction that many other bands in the scene never would have done past their first few records. And when you consider how well The Tropic Rot carries its momentum through most of the record, it’s something that’s just as good as Poison The the Well’s classic material.
