Customer Reviews

The Tropic Rot

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like another reviewer here, I've been a fan of Poison the Well for quite some time. What I never seem to understand is why people complain about how they've changed. Of course Poison the Well has changed since The Opposite of December. They have dug deep into their musical talents and more importantly, their lives. If you can hear the lyrics on this album, you will feel them as well. At this point, I've listened to this album more times in completion than I did when Versions first came out (and I love Versions). The other reviewer I've read probably heard a few songs before giving their honest opinion. The best way to describe the way this album flows is a mix between You Come Before You and Versions in the sense that The Tropic Rot brings the more raw emotion that Poison the Well brought with You Come Before You, and the more polished and musically pioneering sound of Versions.

PTW was a slow grow for me. The first album I got by them was Versions...a noisy, static-filled, chaotic rock record that sounded like Hank Williams got kidnapped by The Refused and provided half the studio instrumentation. (And the record worked - very well - but that's not the record I'm reviewing now :)) This one is way easier to like on the first listen, and continues to develop, because of how strong the songs are. These guys make a fast punk beat sound so much heavier than any other band. They have a great ear for balancing the clean and screamed vocals to create dynamics within their pounding songs. They continue to push the envelope of hardcore, leaving all breakdowns and gimmicks behind and giving me hope that there's a future for the genre. (track to sample: "Antarctica Inside Me")

Taking the intensity of "You come before You" and mixing it with the experimental dynamics of "Versions" equates to one of the best hardcore albums that has come out in a long time. This is a genuinely unique album that steps away from the traditional recipe of most heavy music to offer a true evolution. Poison the Well has absolutley nailed it on this release, a must own.

Yeah, it seems as thought most people have forgotten Poison the Well. When I saw them on the 10 for $10 tour in 2009, even the younger fans only wanted to hear the old stuff. Well isn't that too bad. I have met and interviewed members of PTW. They are honest and intelligent. I think their progression and influences are great. Yeah, I like the older stuff a little more, probably because of my age and where I was at in my life at the time. All music is liked based heavily on context. No offense to great writing and musicianship.

With that being said. The lyrics have been amazing on the last two albums (Versions and Tropic Rot). Musically they have grown as well. I want the band to do well in order to keep touring and putting out albums, but I must say seeing them now with about 100 fans at a venue reminds me of early Opposite of December Days. Tropic Rot is a good album period. Don't give up on Poison the Well.

Poison the Well was one of the very first metal bands I ever listened to. Their style quickly attracted me towards other Metalcore bands, but even now that I listen to well over 200 different bands in various genres spanning all forms of rock and metal, I still keep coming back to Poison the Well. What initially attracted me to Poison the Well to begin with was their heavy sound that they had incorporated into early releases such as "The Opposite of December".

On albums such as "The Opposite of December", Jeffrey Moreira used to use a very distinct form of singing in which he utilized heavy yells, and screams, mixed with occasional spoken lyrics, and very rarely some clean singing as well. His screams were intense, angry, and heavy, providing an overall distinguishable sound for the band during their early releases. No one screamed like Jeffrey. However, with each new album released, the band slowly began to evolve and incorporate new styles into their music.

No longer relying on the same style of screaming, Jeffrey Moreira uses a much more comprehensible style of yelling. No longer does the band use a scream with the same level of distortion in the vocals, instead, the lyrics are easier to comprehend, but may not sound as "heavy" or "intense" as songs featured on albums such as "The Opposite of December". The vocal style now features a much more refined form of yells, and also incorporates much more clean vocals. Jeffrey Moreira is actually quite talented at the clean vocals and he finally lets this show on "Tropic Rot" by providing some of his best overall performance in all styles of vocals.

"Tropic Rot" begins with "Exist Underground", a track that starts off by showcasing Jeffrey Moreira's new style of screaming from the instant the song begins. It then transitions into the chorus which turns around to show just how good Moreira is when it comes to clean vocals as well. This track does not overdue the clean singing, and it balancing the melody and heaviness quite well, providing a very refined sounding form of Poison the Well that may be new to many fans. The second track "Sparks It Will Rain" along with "Cinema" continue to mix the heavy yells with clean vocals, and once again manages to produce a nice balance between the two sounds.

The album takes a different direction on the track "Pamplemousse". This track is something that most older Poison the Well fans may be turned off by. The reason why? The song is composed entirely of clean vocals, something very unique for the band when compared to prior releases. This is mostly due to the fact that Poison the Well has matured and evolved with time, and trying to venture into new styles is something most bands attempt at some point. The gamble is a double edged sword since in many cases fans turn against the band for such decisions, but Poison the Well does the transition quite well. It's actually quite odd since one of my favorite tracks on the album is actually "When you Lose I Lose As Well", a song that is composed out of a very slow, acoustic melody, and clean singing. However, the lyrics and the style come together to create a very interesting and meaningful track that is worth a listen.

With "Tropic Rot", Poison the Well ventures deeper into the style that they had begun to show on their last album "Versions". However, their outing with "Tropic Rot" outshines "Versions" in all ways: clean vocals, yells, melody, lyrics, and instrument work. The band's sound is much more fine tuned and higher quality on "Tropic Rot" than what it was on "Versions". Poison the Well may not sound like the band that brought forth tracks such as "Slice Paper Wrists" anymore, but that is not necessarily a bad thing either. The new sound works well for their style, and the new style is just as good as the older style. With time, "Tropic Rot" will grow on even the most die hard of traditional Poison the Well fans and they will learn to appreciate the new sound.

Great album, definitely one of their best. It might be my favorite, but I don't know. This is such an underrated and under...known band. They are currently my favorite band, and I don't really have favorite bands. The emotion they put into their music is really refreshing. Definitely check them out if you like any kind of heavy music, or even music in general.

That conclusion is such: if you try and just jump into this band from this CD after being an avid metalcore fan, you probably won't enjoy it. You need to follow the band from step one to really appreciate this. I say this because I jumped in at You Come Before You and am just starting to realize why this CD is good. My recommendation is to go all the way back to Distance Makes The Heart Grow Fonder and go from there. Match up the sounds with other bands of their time and try to understand WHY they are the way they are rather than just listening. Almost everyone who has any depth in modern music knows that metalcore is a genre that has gotten a lot of flack over the last decade. Go back to 1999, when The Opposite of December was made. It's not the best metalcore CD but the production is top-notch. Sure, PTW could've made a better CD musically (check out their first EP) but they were trying to make a point. Tear From The Red was released and then lots of big names started jumping in on the band wagon such as As I Lay Dying, Killswitch Engage, and Atreyu. The genre got real populated and, thus, stale. You Come Before You brought a breath of fresh air with its heartfelt parts. Lately the metalcore scene has been a total joke to the point where a CD is nothing be double bass breakdowns with high pitched screams - it's pathetic! Versions and The Tropic Rot aren't the best CDs out there but they are original, fresh, and insightful in a genre that could make one nauseous.

Not to downplay Versions at all but The Tropic Rot improves on many things.
First the structures and transitions are flawless on this album, everything blends together so well it gives me goosebumps. Jeffs voice and lyrics are also an improvement, on Versions i had a hard time making sense of what he was saying/screaming/singing. In TTR I found a lot more relevance in the tone, there seems to be a message, not to mention his voice is just amazing on this album. Jeff has three main vocal styles, one is his screaming ofcourse, another is kind of like singing/talking which works well with this band since they have some very dreary moments that work very well, and the other is his melodic singing which i was never into with this band. Untill The tropic Rot came out. Now the instruments. Right away I was slightly dissapointed that they took out their loud sliding, southerny guitar riffs (which were very involved in Versions). After a couple listens though you hear that this band doesnt need those riffs to be interesting, they still have AMAZING riffs, they're just not as loud and they stay in the backround. Everything else is very very good, Drums/Bass/Keys. If your a fan of Post-PTW then this album is a must have! Album of the year so far.

I'm really enjoying this new album. I bought the deluxe version (even though I have all the I/II/III ep's) and took a nice long walk to hear it out on my iPod.

Honestly they lost me for a couple of albums there --until "Versions" hit and reaffirmed PTW's position as a brutal yet poignant hardcore band.

I'd say this album expands on some of Versions better points, going a little out there in the melodic "traditional" rock while still maintaining their hardcore roots ..and all with a large helping of unpredictable experimentation in there.

I'd put this album with a few other of my favorites as bands really trying to push the envelope, and sadly unpopular because their sounds aren't, well, "popular" --Triclops!, Mastodon and These Arms Are Snakes come to mind ...great progressive &"avant garde" but mind-blasting rooted hardcore/punk/metal with these bands.(Of course none of those groups sound similar but they share a spirit)

Check these out and thank me later:


Drinking From The Necks Of The Ones You Love

Cafeteria Brutalia

...making me crap my pants. This album is amazing, once again Poison The Well hasn't let me down. This one is right up there with "You Come Before You" for me. Now excuse me while I go clean my trousers.