Poison the Well
Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
Undecided Records
1998 2001 CD
Early example of emo-influenced metalcore ("emotional metalcore" or "Livejournalcore"), which would explode in the early 2000s. An EP, this is only 26 minutes long, including the bonus tracks.
This is pretty straightforward music. Plenty of riffs and delicious chugs, smooth transitions, and a varied rhythm section. No attempts at mathcore zaniness or Swedish melodies. What stands out most about this particular strain of metalcore is that it's very much focused on vocals. There are actually two singers here (bringing the band up to six members like My Dying Bride or something lol), one clean and one unclean. The clean vocals are wispy and distant, somewhat androgynous. The screaming is downright nasty, snarly with semi-legible diction. It's great stuff; this wouldn't be half as good as it is with a different dude (or dudes) on the microphone.
There are some live tracks tossed on the back end and they... actually aren't as shitty as I expected. Still arguably filler though. My copy is a repressing. The original has a different cover, no bonus live tracks, and the word Only in the title.
Rating: 4/5
Reviewed: 10/26/25
Poison the Well
The Opposite of December... A Season of Separation
Trustkill Records
1999 CD
First (and best) full-length by these Floridians. This is a formulaic release. As in, they figured out a formula and execute it well. Every song is between 2.5 and four minutes. Half of that time is probably spent on breakdowns. The stupid simple chuggy ones that bring everyone out to the dance floor. The songwriting is much tighter here (compared to the EP) with some seriously sexy riffing, but I don't like the vocals as much. Both original singers are gone and this new guy sounds pretty standard. Hoarse yells plus the borderline whiny clean emo singing. I mean, it's fine, and it all meshes well with the music, but that eerie vibe from the EP is lacking. Still giving them the same rating though, because I feel like it!!
Great cover art and I'm glad they managed to release this before the 90s wrapped up (in December, no less).
Rating: 4/5
Reviewed: 10/26/25