Customer Reviews

Opposite of December

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I don't listen to much hardcore. While I have a certain respect for what bands like Hatebreed and Sick Of It All do, I think they too often just go charging forward and forget about things like writing interesting and memorable songs. So when it comes to hardcore, most of the time I'd rather listen to metal. Poison The Well, however, is different, and I mean that in the best possible way.

From the opener "12-23-93" all the way to the concluding "My Mirror No Longer Reflects," "Opposite of December" evinces nothing less than top-notch crafstmanship. Melody, complexity, heaviness, and raw emotion are all thrown into a blender here, and the result is some of the most insanely addictive and memorable stuff you could ever hope to hear. Poison The Well use hardcore as a jumping-off point, but elements of melodic metal and even progressive rock can also be heard. Like almost any great band, Poison The Well transcend the limits of any one genre. This is just great stuff, period.

The music has a lurching, spasmodic quality, like the very fabric of the Earth is being torn apart. The aggression and breakdowns associated with hardcore are here, but the precision of the playing and irregularity of the time signatures are more reminiscent of math metal bands like Meshuggah and the Dillinger Escape Plan. Of course, those are two of my favorite bands, so that's definitely a good thing. The guitar work of Derek Miller and Jose Martinez is especially impressive. Their riffs pack all the punch that you'd expect from any decent hardcore band, but they also carry an impressive sense of melody. Poison The Well isn't a band that has two guitarists for no apparent reason: the interplay and dynamics these guys create is stunning. They even throw in a few acoustic interludes here and there, providing a nice contrast from all the heaviness. Very impressive. Jeffrey Moreira, for his part, is one of the best hardcore vocalists I've ever heard, maybe THE best. I'm not normally a huge fan of hardcore vocals, but he's so good I'm willing to make an exception. At the risk of overdoing the anatomical references, he screams from way down in his gut, giving his voice a chilling sound that you can really feel in your bones. The rhythm section is a huge plus as well, as they possess all the skill needed to play stuff this intricate and unpredictable.

Normally I try to comment on individual songs, but every track on here exemplifies the characteristics I've described above. If you like one song here, you'll probably like them all, but "Opposite of December" still manages to avoid the feeling of sameness that pervades many otherwise excellent hardcore albums. If you consider yourself a fan of interesting heavy music, this album and its followup "Tear from the Red" (but especially this one) are musts.

I will not mince words. This album rocks, flat-out. Rocks hard. If you enjoy rocking, get it. That's really all that needs to be said. Still, I'm gonna go on and on for a while.

This album combines the best elements of hardcore and metal with plenty of melody. It's complex and quite heavy like a metal cd, but adds a stronger emotional element and increased rawness. At it high points, this is some of the most emotionally intense music I've ever heard, particularly on the first 2 tracks and the end of the 8th track. PTW knows better than perhaps any band I can think of understand how to convey emotions with their instruments beyond sheer rage. The songs are quite concise, 3 minutes long on average, but they aren't your simply, 3-chord punk affairs by any means. There is nary a conventional song structure to be found here, with plenty of tempo and mood changes in every track. The vocals are well done, mainly consisting of pained howls with some low-key, occasionally near spoken word "clean" vocal sections. The drumming is powerful as well, with prominent placement in the mix and lots of double bass work.

All 9 tracks stand-out. 12/23/93 is one of the best, with some heart-wrenching, tragic lyrics(seems to be about a friends suicide?) and an immensely powerful final 1/3, beginning with a very brief but very affecting clean vox section finally degenerating into inhuman howling and shrieking guitar lines. Simply outstanding. A Wish For Wings That Work is next, and perhaps the single best track on the album, with more strong lyrics.(once again, about suicide) It has a great, subdued clean-guitar section with haunting spoken vox.(Forever is such an unpleasant word/It begins to eat at you, from the inside out/Beg for Sleep, as this noose is tied/around, around, your neck. Creepy.) It gets even better, as this part if followed by pounded power-chord riffing overlayed with a second, disparate and squealing guitar part topped off by anguished howling. More great stuff. Slice Paper Wrists is the next real standout, opening with a raging, classic punk roar eventually dying down to a whisper, than returning with a vengeance. To Mandate Heaven is brilliant as well, with a good selection of riffs and a beautiful last movement. The really outstanding moment from the album comes in the 8th track, Midair Love Message. The final section with the raging and melodic guitars and the distant, sorrowful vocals overlaid by a bit of howling will give you chills, provided you have a soul.

I've said enough. Just get it, and get Tear From the Red too. It's not as good, but better than lots of the people here would have you believe.

Hell yes you should get this. If you even made this far just get over yourself and get a copy. The only hangup a diverse metal fan could have is over the vocals. This the first band that had that sort of nonhuman sounding scream that I truly liked. Its just as legitimate a style of singing as any really. I actually like the fact that he isn't necessarily angry when he screams on this album. So get this and look into Killswitch and In Flames if you're new to the less palatable than Pantera/Slayer scream.

Wow is all I can say about this cd. A friend recently turned me onto this awesome hardcore group and I've loved them ever since. I love most kinds of music, but hardcore, especially Poison the Well, is the best! EVERYONE NEEDS THIS CD!...If you're just not into hardcore, you can at least appreciate their lyrical talents. I love Slice Paper Wrists, A Wish For Wings That Work, Artists Rendering Of Me, as well as My Mirror No Longer Reflects. And their songs just aren't all screaming, there's emotion and well, it's just indescrible. I don't think you can get this kind of beauty and maturity from any other group, especially if you spend your time listening to songs that the artists don't even write themselves. That's not music. PTW makes music, and damn good music at that. This genre isn't- well, to be blunt- isn't respected as much, and that's everyone else's problem. Just because you like hardcore doesn't mean your in a gang and plotting to kill somebody tonight. So don't think that buying this cd means your conformed to some stereotype. I love PTW and their music, and at least sample the songs if you're still not sure whether to get the cd or not. I hope my review helped you! :)

First off, I'm not the biggest fan of hardcore music. Just not my main type of music I like to listen to. But this CD, and this band... how can you not like it? Any fan of heavy music should worship this CD. I'll admit, this is the only hardcore CD I own, but it's just simply amazing. There's great screaming, good lyrics, an amazing drummer, and brutal guitars. The thing that turns me off from most hardcore bands are the vocals - too much screaming, or incoherant screaming. Poison the Well include a lot of beatiful singing in their songs, and the contrast is is quite good. When they are screaming, it's intelligible and really conveys the power of the song. Check out 12/23/93, Slice Paper Wrists, Nerdy, and To Mandate Heaven to see what I'm talking about. Maybe they'll convert you too.

This is the best cd from the best band out there. every part of this release along with their other releases is top notch, and the most emotional hardcore u can find. i think its funny when people who like a completely different style of music such as dimmu borgir, and borknagar, and cradle of filth, etc, rate this as a bad cd when they dont even listen to this kind of music. i, myself, listen to all of those bands plus many more, but thats like if i went to a britney spears cd and reviewed why its terrible... it just doesnt make any sense to me. the vocals are amazing on this cd. the best out of all 3 cds this singer was in. the music is so concrete it makes u think they arent human when they play... everything is put together so perfectly. the song "My Mirror No Longer Reflects" is the best song i have ever heard. the lyrics on this song along with all the others are so emotional and so well written. each song is like a poem, and that kind of writing in my opinion is the best kind, because its all written from your heart, which makes the best atmosphere in the music. definelty buy this cd along with their other 3 cds.

[Quick note: I would not describe myself as a "hardcore kid," nor would I say that I'm a part the "scene" or whatever, so this review should hopefully come across as being as unbiased as possible.]

Poison the Well have arguably created the quintessential metalcore album with The Opposite of December. Every song is a brutal assault on the senses, full of chugging guitars, blast beats, and tortured screams. The songs are complex, constantly shifting tempos, dynamics, and time signatures without feeling unorganized or incohesive. The lyrics can admittedly be a bit silly at times ("I know very well the rain falls in drops," "Forever is such an unpleasant word," "I drown in tears"), but I wasn't expecting profound poetry or anything humorous or lighthearted from a hardcore band, so they're ultimately forgivable.

The songs themselves are surprisingly great. They're very well written, and achieve a balance between brutality and melody without giving off the classic "let's be sensitive AND tough" vibes. Most other hardcore bands seem to really want to be two or three different bands at the same time and end up just sounding ridiculous. Poison the Well is able to incorporate quiet, melodic breakdowns as well as clear singing and some spoken-word into their unrelenting metalcore without sounding awkward or off. The best example of this is displayed in "Slice Paper Wrists," the album's longest and most varying song. Also of note are the intense "12/23/93," whose last third is, for me, the best and most memorable part of the album, and the quintessential hardcore love song "Nerdy."

If you consider yourself a fan of modern hardcore or metalcore, this album should already be in your collection, but if you're curious about the genre and aren't quite sure where to start, make Poison the Well's The Opposite of December your first purchase.

Best songs: "12/23/93," "A Wish for Wings That Work," "Slice Paper Wrists," "Nerdy," "Mid-Air Love Message"

It isn't often that one finds such a perfect hardcore album. With its incredibly heavy guitar work and breakdowns combined with intensely emotional lyrics and beautiful melodies, this CD is one of the few that will make you want to jump into a moshpit and cry at the same time. I would recommend it to any metalhead, hardcore freak, or emo kid - but they all know and love this CD already, because it is the literal pinnacle of all these genres. If you haven't heard it yet, it's time for you to buy it right now and get ready to rock your head off. But don't forget the kleenex.

All of the songs are incredible, but if you are the sort of person who must hear selections of a CD before buying it, I would suggest starting out by downloading "Slice Paper Wrists" and "Nerdy" because they epitomize both the emotional and heavy aspects of PTW's work.
I promise you will love what you hear.

this album is the first full length of one of the best hardcore/metal/whatever-you-want-to-call-it bands out there. although the album length is a bit on the short side, not one filler song is present. it is very evident a fair bit of thought went into creating the songs (impressive drumming and guitar throughout the entire album). this was one of the first/best bands that began implementing melody into the traditional hardcore/metal styles, and the impact they're had is enormous. it's hard to come by other albums that pack this much energy in their music. the lyrics are very well written (nerdy has to be one of the best love poems every written), and the timing of non-screaming vocals is very well placed and well executioned (tracks 1, 2, 5 are all great examples of this). some people complain of the production of this album, i would not want these songs done any other way (while later albums are still incredible in their own ways, this one by far has the most raw energy in it).

Typo: Should have been FIVE stars.

Fueled by some distant unseen hope, Opposite of December rumbles through the depths of depression and alienation with the promise of a happy resolution that never comes.

The guitars chug and blast with tension building meanace while Jeff Moreira's guttural screams evoke not rage but the deepest of sorrow. Even the clean vocals are drenched in despair, alternating between a meak understated croon and monotone spoken word. Throughout the album, glimmers of hope pop up in the form of urgent melodies and frantic drumming only to be quickly suffocated. Though never blunt, the poetic lyrics manage to get the point across without being too flowery or cryptic with imagery often used to great effect to reflect the misery of the vocals.

Despite not following the traditional pop song structure, the songs are still incredibly easy to follow. The songs all have direction and usually build to an effective climax before winding down and closing. Most importantly, the riffs and melodies are given time to linger in the listener's mind.

"Nerdy" is the true highlight. The outstanding lyrics are an obsessive plea not just to a girl but to anyone for human contact. Desperate and bleak, the song climaxes when thrashing guitars and double bass drumming finally crushthe protagnoist's hopes into dust. "Slice Paper Wrists" might be the most memorable with a catchy riff and vocal chant, it's also a good start off song with the band rolling out all their tricks. The finish to the album is a back breaker with the protagonist apparently giving up, all the music is dropped but an eerie quiet guitar melody and the vocalist's muted growled pleas for someone to "end me!"

This is an emotionally exhausting album best listened to in one sitting, which explains the barely under thiry minute length. Very few entries in the extreme metal genre have created such passionate, intimate work.