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By JEFF MAKI
Poison The Well's Versions is sure to make a strong impression in the heavy rock scene. The band's first album since 2003's You Come Before You is an adventurous recording, one that will have some listeners scratching their heads. I, like many others, was under the assumption that Poison the Well was a metalcore band. Well, forget what you think you know when it comes to Versions. With so many bands content to be imitators today, Poison the Well's blend of metal, experimental rock and hardcore will flick that switch in your head that's been off for some time.
Poison the Well has toured with everyone from Deftones to Cult of Luna, but they do not imitate those bands here. Rather, they adapt certain elements of those bands into their music, developing a new sound for themselves. Is that an accordion I hear? Slide guitar? Brass? This shit isn't supposed to be on a metal record, is it? Lead vocalist Jeffrey Moreira sounds a little like the Deftones' Chino Moreno with his occasional soft monotone. But don't worry, he still lets out some angry screams on the more aggressive material. He lacks range, but his vocals are a perfect lead for hardcore rockers like the opener, “Letter Thing,” and the even more impressive on the Southern swagger of “Nagaina.” This is the third song of the album and opens up the experimentation. The song has a classic or indie rock feel. No, it's not really metal at all, but it's one of the strongest selections here. Same goes for “Slow Good Morning,” an eerie ballad that seems to deal with schizophrenia. The lyrics tell of dead bodies on a bedroom floor with no explanation of how they got there. “Prematurio El Baby,” with its hardcore-punk attitude, is another standout. The 12 songs all feel as if they belong. Nothing is out of place, a testament to the time and work the band put into this album.
Versions as a whole has a murky guitar sound and creepy feel to it, taking off in unexpected directions. Poison the Well is a rock band and shows that there are no limitations within rock music. The same cannot be said for the metalcore subgenre. Poison the Well has more in common with Fear Before the March of Flames than it does with Killswitch Engage. Fans will need to keep an open mind to appreciate the new direction. If you're purely interested in neck-breaking guitar riffs and ultra-fast “insert subgenre name”-core, listen to Versions with extreme caution.
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