cbmartinez
10-09-2004, 09:58 PM
Artist: Poison The Well
Album: Tear From The Red
Label: Trustkill
Genre: Metalcore/Emocore/Post-Hardcore
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Jeffrey Moreira- Screams/Singing
Ryan Primack- Guitar
Derek Miller- Guitar
Iano- Bass
Chris Hornbrook- Drums
Review:
Poison The Well’s second LP Tear From The Red was the final installment for my collection of Poison The Well CDs. I kept putting the CD off because the reviews for it said that it wasn’t very solid. Well, when I finally purchased it and repeated it non-stop in my CD player, I came up with the same assumption. I consider Tear From The Red the bridge in every sense of the word, from The Opposite Of December to You Come Before You. The CD truly captures Poison The Well halfway through their metamorphosis from chugging metalcore warriors to melodic but equally brutal inventors. But just because this CD is placed in between the two masterpieces The Opposite Of December and You Come Before You, doesn’t mean it fails miserably. In attempting to change, Poison The Well created a distinct sound somewhere in between metalcore chaos and almost indie sounding melodies. Many people love this album because of it’s equal portions of metalcore chug and soft vocal and guitar melodies. Whatever your preference is, Tear From The Red is still a fine LP that allowed Poison The Well to try new things and define their sound.
The CD starts off with the somewhat famous and first Poison The Well single, “Botchla.” “Botchla” starts with clean guitar and Jeff’s improved singing voice unfolds. The feedback rings and the song explodes. Jeff painfully screams of love, pain and ignorance as one of the catchiest guitar lines yet repeats. Then comes the deep, chugging, a la The Opposite Of December. The eerie, clean guitar leads begin and Jeff sings once again of his torn body. The breakdown is nice and the song ends on a more mellow note. Botchla is a great album opener, sure to get the listener thrashing but singing along to the mellow lines. “Lazarro” breaks right open, with chugging Drop C and Hornbrook’s sporadic drumming. The song continues in the brutal fashion until about 1:30, when Jeff croons the painful line, “You always smell the same. Everything smells of you,” over palm-muted rhythm and happy leads. “Lazzaro” once again mixes angry screams with painful singing to create a classic Poison The Well track. “Turn Down Elliot” begins as bass, guitar and the Hornbrook’s speedy double bass blend into one chaotic line. Then come the screams, tearing away at your ears with every line. The breakdown unfolds and Jeff continues to spit lyrics of pain and hopelessness. The bridge is a beautiful blend of guitar and drums as partners Ryan Primack and Derek Miller produce beautiful entwining lines. The breakdown returns, more powerful than other and Jeff ends the song singing the lines, “skies most wanted good-byes, you missed my face again.” “Rings From Corona” wastes no time, opening up with descending guitar and bass and relentless drumming. The middle of the song is absolutely breathtaking, as Jeff painfully roars the lines, “stop calling me! Please keep calling me,” over one of the most catchy guitar lines. The song ends with a palm-muted mess as Jeff roars the last line, “stop ****in’ calling me!” “Moments Over Exaggerate” begins with soft clean guitar but soon explodes with a catchy progression. Jeff shows his amazing and often underrated vocal range in the chorus. Soon after Jeff screams the frightening lines, “always wondering who's coming to save, who's saving me.” After one more chorus and verse, the song lets the final chord ring, and the halfway mark is reached. Though each of the songs have their own distinct emotions and attributes, the first half of the CD seems to flow into one big, chaotic mess. But the songs undoubtedly pack a powerful punch, and will have you singing along to the melodic choruses and repeating the catchy guitar lines in your head. I let “Moments Over Exaggerate” ring out, and sheltered myself for the second half.
A pleasant surprise awaited on “Horns And Tails” as acoustic guitar filled my ears. “Horns And Tails” is a pretty impressive and pleasantly surprising acoustic track that I definitely didn’t expect from Poison The Well. Jeff’s beautiful vocals sing of painful memories and trying to forget someone. “Horns And Tails” works very well on the album and was definitely a great way to start the second half and add some variety. But “Sticks And Stones Never Made Sense” brings you right back to the classic metalcore though, beginning with a chaotic, frantic guitar line not for the weak of heart. The track follows the Poison The Well formula with ear-shattering verses, brutal breakdowns and melodic choruses, formed by eerie leads, speedy chugging, spastic drumming and weaving bass. The lyrics seem towards suicide, with lines like, “have you thought about death today, ask me I'll help. You never knew me, these are my last words!” “Sticks And Stones Never Made Sense” is easily one of the best tracks on the album. Next up is the powerful, yet melodic “Pieces Of You In Me.” The verse and chorus are your standard quick riffing and screams, but the bridge is amazing as acoustic guitar, bass and vocals blend into a spectacular harmony. The three-note lead that follows may not be the hardest piece of work created, but the way it blends with the guitar progression furthers the excellence of this song. “Karsey Street” starts off with a man speaking and is soon accompanied by strange crashes of drum cymbals. The song is simply a one minute speech about fear and judgement.
"I've seen the horror, the horrors that you've seen
but you have no right to murder
you have no right to kill me
i have a right to do that
but you have no right to judge me
its impossible for words to disregard what is necessary
to those who do not know what horror means
horror...
horror..has a face
and you must make a friend of horror
horror and moral tear are your friends
if they are not, then they are enemies to be feared
they are truly enemies"
I don’t know if the speech was written by Poison The Well, who recites it or why the hell it’s on this CD, but it is an interesting listen and a break from the constant metal beatdown. The speech flows right into the final track, “Parks And What You Meant To Me.” The song starts with soft, clean guitar picking and soon explodes into dual, overdriven progressions, backed by deep bass. The song changes from singing to screaming and finally fades out into an acoustic line, and the CD ends.
Tear From The Red is a very experimental album. In many aspects, it’s a step forward from The Opposite Of December. Gone are the repetitive chugging lines and raspy vocals. All the instruments have definitely improved and Jeff’s singing abilities have almost doubled. But he still has enough in him to bark out gut-wrenching screams. Miller and Primack have improved their playing abilities and have discovered new ways to blend their guitars into one beautiful but chaotic sound. The new bassist Iano has replaced the chugging, rhythmic lines of The Opposite Of December with weaving, fast lines, adding a simple touch to the melody. And Hornbrook’s amazing drumming may not be as flashy, but still provides that key factor in making brutal metalcore. But as far as solidity goes, Tear From The Red seems incomplete. The flow is broken at many points and often songs seem to blend. Though songs like “Horns and Tails” and “Karsey Street” are very brave ventures in variety, they even lack something. Poison The Well just didn’t have guts to make the complete transformation to what they wanted. And though Tear From The Red has its faults, it is nonetheless a fine project with many great tracks, full of both brutality and melody.
Suggested Tracks: Botchla, Rings From Corona, Horns And Tails, Sticks And Stones Never Made Sense, Pieces Of You In Me
Score: 3.5 out of 5
-Chris Baranowski
Album: Tear From The Red
Label: Trustkill
Genre: Metalcore/Emocore/Post-Hardcore
http://smartpunk.com/product_images/4389.gif
Jeffrey Moreira- Screams/Singing
Ryan Primack- Guitar
Derek Miller- Guitar
Iano- Bass
Chris Hornbrook- Drums
Review:
Poison The Well’s second LP Tear From The Red was the final installment for my collection of Poison The Well CDs. I kept putting the CD off because the reviews for it said that it wasn’t very solid. Well, when I finally purchased it and repeated it non-stop in my CD player, I came up with the same assumption. I consider Tear From The Red the bridge in every sense of the word, from The Opposite Of December to You Come Before You. The CD truly captures Poison The Well halfway through their metamorphosis from chugging metalcore warriors to melodic but equally brutal inventors. But just because this CD is placed in between the two masterpieces The Opposite Of December and You Come Before You, doesn’t mean it fails miserably. In attempting to change, Poison The Well created a distinct sound somewhere in between metalcore chaos and almost indie sounding melodies. Many people love this album because of it’s equal portions of metalcore chug and soft vocal and guitar melodies. Whatever your preference is, Tear From The Red is still a fine LP that allowed Poison The Well to try new things and define their sound.
The CD starts off with the somewhat famous and first Poison The Well single, “Botchla.” “Botchla” starts with clean guitar and Jeff’s improved singing voice unfolds. The feedback rings and the song explodes. Jeff painfully screams of love, pain and ignorance as one of the catchiest guitar lines yet repeats. Then comes the deep, chugging, a la The Opposite Of December. The eerie, clean guitar leads begin and Jeff sings once again of his torn body. The breakdown is nice and the song ends on a more mellow note. Botchla is a great album opener, sure to get the listener thrashing but singing along to the mellow lines. “Lazarro” breaks right open, with chugging Drop C and Hornbrook’s sporadic drumming. The song continues in the brutal fashion until about 1:30, when Jeff croons the painful line, “You always smell the same. Everything smells of you,” over palm-muted rhythm and happy leads. “Lazzaro” once again mixes angry screams with painful singing to create a classic Poison The Well track. “Turn Down Elliot” begins as bass, guitar and the Hornbrook’s speedy double bass blend into one chaotic line. Then come the screams, tearing away at your ears with every line. The breakdown unfolds and Jeff continues to spit lyrics of pain and hopelessness. The bridge is a beautiful blend of guitar and drums as partners Ryan Primack and Derek Miller produce beautiful entwining lines. The breakdown returns, more powerful than other and Jeff ends the song singing the lines, “skies most wanted good-byes, you missed my face again.” “Rings From Corona” wastes no time, opening up with descending guitar and bass and relentless drumming. The middle of the song is absolutely breathtaking, as Jeff painfully roars the lines, “stop calling me! Please keep calling me,” over one of the most catchy guitar lines. The song ends with a palm-muted mess as Jeff roars the last line, “stop ****in’ calling me!” “Moments Over Exaggerate” begins with soft clean guitar but soon explodes with a catchy progression. Jeff shows his amazing and often underrated vocal range in the chorus. Soon after Jeff screams the frightening lines, “always wondering who's coming to save, who's saving me.” After one more chorus and verse, the song lets the final chord ring, and the halfway mark is reached. Though each of the songs have their own distinct emotions and attributes, the first half of the CD seems to flow into one big, chaotic mess. But the songs undoubtedly pack a powerful punch, and will have you singing along to the melodic choruses and repeating the catchy guitar lines in your head. I let “Moments Over Exaggerate” ring out, and sheltered myself for the second half.
A pleasant surprise awaited on “Horns And Tails” as acoustic guitar filled my ears. “Horns And Tails” is a pretty impressive and pleasantly surprising acoustic track that I definitely didn’t expect from Poison The Well. Jeff’s beautiful vocals sing of painful memories and trying to forget someone. “Horns And Tails” works very well on the album and was definitely a great way to start the second half and add some variety. But “Sticks And Stones Never Made Sense” brings you right back to the classic metalcore though, beginning with a chaotic, frantic guitar line not for the weak of heart. The track follows the Poison The Well formula with ear-shattering verses, brutal breakdowns and melodic choruses, formed by eerie leads, speedy chugging, spastic drumming and weaving bass. The lyrics seem towards suicide, with lines like, “have you thought about death today, ask me I'll help. You never knew me, these are my last words!” “Sticks And Stones Never Made Sense” is easily one of the best tracks on the album. Next up is the powerful, yet melodic “Pieces Of You In Me.” The verse and chorus are your standard quick riffing and screams, but the bridge is amazing as acoustic guitar, bass and vocals blend into a spectacular harmony. The three-note lead that follows may not be the hardest piece of work created, but the way it blends with the guitar progression furthers the excellence of this song. “Karsey Street” starts off with a man speaking and is soon accompanied by strange crashes of drum cymbals. The song is simply a one minute speech about fear and judgement.
"I've seen the horror, the horrors that you've seen
but you have no right to murder
you have no right to kill me
i have a right to do that
but you have no right to judge me
its impossible for words to disregard what is necessary
to those who do not know what horror means
horror...
horror..has a face
and you must make a friend of horror
horror and moral tear are your friends
if they are not, then they are enemies to be feared
they are truly enemies"
I don’t know if the speech was written by Poison The Well, who recites it or why the hell it’s on this CD, but it is an interesting listen and a break from the constant metal beatdown. The speech flows right into the final track, “Parks And What You Meant To Me.” The song starts with soft, clean guitar picking and soon explodes into dual, overdriven progressions, backed by deep bass. The song changes from singing to screaming and finally fades out into an acoustic line, and the CD ends.
Tear From The Red is a very experimental album. In many aspects, it’s a step forward from The Opposite Of December. Gone are the repetitive chugging lines and raspy vocals. All the instruments have definitely improved and Jeff’s singing abilities have almost doubled. But he still has enough in him to bark out gut-wrenching screams. Miller and Primack have improved their playing abilities and have discovered new ways to blend their guitars into one beautiful but chaotic sound. The new bassist Iano has replaced the chugging, rhythmic lines of The Opposite Of December with weaving, fast lines, adding a simple touch to the melody. And Hornbrook’s amazing drumming may not be as flashy, but still provides that key factor in making brutal metalcore. But as far as solidity goes, Tear From The Red seems incomplete. The flow is broken at many points and often songs seem to blend. Though songs like “Horns and Tails” and “Karsey Street” are very brave ventures in variety, they even lack something. Poison The Well just didn’t have guts to make the complete transformation to what they wanted. And though Tear From The Red has its faults, it is nonetheless a fine project with many great tracks, full of both brutality and melody.
Suggested Tracks: Botchla, Rings From Corona, Horns And Tails, Sticks And Stones Never Made Sense, Pieces Of You In Me
Score: 3.5 out of 5
-Chris Baranowski