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Poison The Well You Come Before You CD Review
Key Tracks:
Ghostchant
Meeting Again For The First Time
Apathy Is A Cold Body
Crystal Lake
From their Distance Makes The Heart Grow Fonder EP to You Come Before You they have never disappointed me. Now, I never considered Distance to really be a Poison the Well album because of the absence of Jeff, but that's beside the point at the moment in this review. So lets get down to the review of You Come Before You.
This album has everything, in my opinion. Everything from gorgeous melodies, such as the chorus of The Realist, to crushing hardcore sounds of Crystal Lake. The album starts of with Ghostchant, a song that from start to finish pummels the listener with strong melodies, and punch-you-in-the-face heaviness. One thing that clearly makes this album different from the rest of the Poison the Well catalogue is Jeff's voice. His screams have gotten much deeper, almost reminiscent of those of Hatebreed, and his singing has gotten so much more emotional. You can feel every word he is saying like it is running through your body. The emotion lies thick throughout the entire album, but I think the key tracks that you can really hear it (in Jeff's voice at least) are: Meeting Again For The First Time and Crystal Lake.
Now, once again, this entire album is filled with nothing but emotion. The guitar sounds of Ryan and Derek have gotten so much more advanced since the Tear From The Red sessions, which wasn't released that long ago (February 2002, I believe), but the guitar soundscapes that are featured on You Come Before You show that night after night of playing has really paid off. The guitars on You Come Before You are reminiscent of the dissonance and melodic playing of Radiohead at some points, and as heavy and brutal as Norma Jean at other points. I really enjoyed the approach they took with their guitar sound on this album. The opening two-guitar piece on Meeting Again For The First Time is just stunning. The fact that these two work so well together is one of the main aspects on why this album is done so well.
Now, this album has one downside. In my opinion, the bass guitar sounded very weak. When the bass is a main aspect of a part in a song, you can hear a very tinny, distorted bass that really doesn't produce the low end that it should. This is only evident on some tracks. Most tracks were done very well, but the ones that weren't, really weren't done well at all. The guitar sounds were made thick enough though, that an under produced bass sound wasn't really that evident throughout the tracks. It was just evident when you could hear the bass alone.
The drumming on this album is superb. Chris has outdone himself this time around. Now, the thing about the playing style of Chris I have noticed is, he doesn't play anything real flashy. He plays what sounds good, and puts things where they should be put. No straight double bass work throughout an entire song, nor just a standard rock beat. Chris puts his beats/sounds where they belong. I really liked how in the back of the booklet that was included with the CD it states, "Chris beats the hell out of OCDP drums Paiste cymbals, with Vic Firth sticks." I couldn't have said it better myself.
Bottom line, this album is amazing. I suggest this album to anyone who is open for 12 tracks of subversive soundscapes of strong, haunting melodies, and back breaking heaviness. This album will only disappoint the hardcore kids that swore that Distance Makes The Heart Grow Fonder was The Well's best album. Many people will never look at this album simply because it is on a major label. Well, guess what? Thursday is on Island records now, and War All The Time was an amazing CD. Don't judge the CD because of the label. Judge it by the sound. This album was done incredibly well by an incredible band. I give it 4.75 stars (out of 5.)
-Mike
other reviews of this album |
Confessed2005 (4.5) An album that breathes originality and demonstrates a band that, through experimentation, have produ...
poisonthewell242 (4.5) As a result of their innovative instrumentation and solid vocals, PTW have created an album which wi...
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I agree. Very well written.
| | | Thank you very much.
-Mike
| | | i recently bought tear from the red, it is pretty metiocre.
the songs just aren't the greatest, and the album is kinda generic.
i wanted you come befroe you but it was sold out, jeff's screaming is amazing,
is it a better album than tear from the red?
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Originally posted by axeslinga_32
i recently bought tear from the red, it is pretty metiocre.
the songs just aren't the greatest, and the album is kinda generic.
i wanted you come befroe you but it was sold out, jeff's screaming is amazing,
is it a better album than tear from the red?
I think it's a more "well rounded" album, they show more of what they're capable of altogether on it.
Good review though.
| | | I think this album is much better than Tear From The Red. TFTR wasn't their best, in fact, I think it is their worst. But I still Like it, it just isn't my fav.
-Mike
| | | Good Review. Actually...this review is excellent!
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Originally posted by axeslinga_32
i recently bought tear from the red, it is pretty metiocre.
the songs just aren't the greatest, and the album is kinda generic.
i wanted you come befroe you but it was sold out, jeff's screaming is amazing,
is it a better album than tear from the red?
Dude...you MUST pick up "Opposite of December". You'll be a believer.
| | | ^^Very true
-Mike
| | | i like tear from the red too, i was just pretty much stating the negetive sides of it
| | | everyone in my school hates them now because they say they sold out ever since opposite of december. i love them and i think they just keep progressing. opposite of december was a very awesome cd but it was just a really basic and simple album where as the newer ones tear from the red and you come before you get more technical and show there progression.
just thought id add that
awesome review and amazing band
| | | PTW is so amazing, they're one of my favorites. I really haven't heard a song of theirs that disappoints me, unless maybe one or two of Tear from the Red. I would buy TFTR solely for Botchla and Parks and What you Meant to Me, however.
| | | Yeah the albums awesome and i agree totally with your review except for the 4.75/5.
I GIVE IT 5/5 :wave:
| | | this review feels empty, no full track listing, no member list, you have to search through this to find what you want.
| | | i dont think every ****ing review has to have that **** in it :angry:
| | | [QUOTE=ver_ya_chick]i dont think every ****ing review has to have that **** in it :angry:[/QUOTE]
it helps. i have to dig through that review to find things. in the better reviews, everything is sorted out, labeled, yadda yadda. very easy to find what you are looking for.
| | | this album is really good. i've loved ptw for like forever, and i will continue to love them. "apathy is a cold body" is my fav track off this album.
| | | on the other PTW well does he sing like this one???
| | | [QUOTE=thursdaythrice]on the other PTW well does he sing like this one???[/QUOTE]
Not as good. His singing improves with every album. On Opposite of December he isn't very good, but it's listenable, on Tear From the Red he's a lot better and sounds pretty good, and of course on the latest one he's awesome.
| | | ya im blown away by apathy is a cold body,it so intense,raw and beautiful.i was going to buy this cd but it was 28$ i might download a couple more
| | | my review: haha can i do this???
It’s often said in the metal industry that a band third album should portray the sound that they hope to aspire. It should contain all of the ingredients that their first two albums contained mixed with a newfound maturity and production. It should be the album that raises the bar and pushes them for a “good band� to a “great band�. While most bands are able to do that but not present anything extraordinary, Poison The Well does it and presents something that you’ve probably never heard from them before in their debut of You Come Before You.
Following up their successful Tear From The Red doesn’t seem like an easy task, but the boys of Poison The Well show that they can do it with ease. The disc as a whole presents something original but still hardcore in their every emotional genre of metal. The opening straight-to-your-face and heavy riffs of the first track, “Ghostchant� are not for the weak of heart. The power of this song is only accompanied by the last track entitled “Crystal Lake�.
What old-school Poison The Well fans definitely won’t miss is the traditional breakdown of the traditional hardcore sense. Past tracks such as “Nerdy� and “Botchla� were classic examples of old-school hardcore breakdowns. Similar new breakdowns occur in the tracks, “Apathy is a Cold Body� and “Sounds Like the End of the World�.
Along with this old-school feel, Poison The Well presents some simple amazing compositions like “Pleasant View� and “Meeting You Again for the First Time�. These songs blend a unique mixture of song structure and classic Poison The Well crunch that you can’t help but love. You Come Before You deserves a listen from anyone into the hardcore music scene, and could very well open the doors for yet another generation of genre blurring bands in the future.
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