Record Exchange Boise

Reviews:

When a band describes itself as genrex meets genre y, your best bet is all too often to run straight for cover andhide, especially when the fusion seems somehow contrived. Not, thankfully, somethingyou need to do in the case of Poison the Well. Formed in the late nineties withthe intent of being a "noisecore emo band," PTW have so far over two-and-changeindependent releases on Trustkill Records done wonders to transcend the limitationsof both these labels, and now have deservedly been given a major-leagues tryouton Atlantic for their third full-length album. Their smartest move is to hireSwedish Chef I and Swedish Chef II (Pelle Henricsson and Eskil Lovstrom), theproducers of Refused's awesome final album The Shape of Punk to Come, to overseethe recording, and it certainly pays off brilliantly on You Come Before You.

Attheir most emo, Poison the Well come across not a zillion miles away from Fugazior Refused, as on "Apathy Is a Cold Body," "Bandaged Iris" and "Sounds Like theEnd of the World," but better still are those times when they crank up the pacewhile still remaining melodic, as on "Meeting Again for the First Time." PTW cando (almost) straight metalcore as well, though, grinding out "Crystal Lake" and"Zombies Are Good for Your Health" superlatively, in a style not unreminiscentof the now defunct Turmoil. Which all adds up to an album that will both satisfythe hardcore snobs for whom a place on a Warped tour package is normally the kissof death, and provide a rousing soundtrack to the summer of many a newcomer tohardcore as well.