Album Review: Poison the Well – Peace in Place (SharpTone Records)

It has been a while. Icons of metalcore, Poison the Well are back with their much-anticipated sixth full-length offering, ‘Peace in Place’. Out March 20th, 2026, via SharpTone Records.

And just like that, 17 years has disappeared in an instance. Poison the Well are back, sounding angrier and more intense than ever, and delivering an album that well and truly lives up to their heady reputation as one of metalcore’s most iconic bands. In fact, I’d argue that they go further and actually deliver an album that combines the best of ‘what was’ with the best of ‘what is’. It’s an album that is so much more than just an attempt to turn back the clock and sees the band experiment with different genres like post-hardcore and alternative metal.

Though that might not be too much of a surprise as they’ve always been a band who refused to follow genre rules, and that thinking is well and truly in place across the ten tracks that makes up Peace in Place.

I dig it, but I’m an old-school fan and remember my teenage self being left gob-smacked by The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation in the year 2000. Yes, I am that old, but just like Poison the Well are showing here, age is just a number.

With vitriolic fire in their bellies, expressive creativity oozing out, and plenty of melodic power, it doesn’t take long for this album to grip tightly as Wax Mask, Primal Bloom, and Thoroughbreds open the album in style. Poison the Well have something to say, and through a vicious combo of serrated riffs, furious vocals, and devastating drums, they make their point well and truly heard, especially as melodic twists add a touch of old-school flair. Each proves to be exceptionally creative, but what I really love is how each is filled with feeling. There’s no half-assing it here at all, and I’m not sure Poison the Well has ever sounded this urgent.

Fresh ideas twisted by maturity and age, Everything Hurts is so relatable, and it hits hard. I love this track. Partially because it’s a little weird, has big melodies, and really makes me feel a bit nostalgic. Which I normally don’t go for, but there’s enough forward-thinking elements across the album that I think it’s ok to sink into a bit nostalgia here and there.

I think it’s so important to point out (again) that Poison the Well aren’t trying to turn back the clock, rather, they’re changing it. It still looks and acts like a clock, but it’s just not quite the same as it was before. This is what makes it such an important album, not just living up to a legacy, but showing just how bright the future of this band currently looks.

Delightfully anthemic and accessible, Weeping Tones has a melodically pleasing chorus and will likely be a firm fan favourite. Whereas A Wake of Vultures blends frenetic rhythms and heavy passages delivering one of the album’s more deliberately intense efforts. Before Bad Bodies goes in a messier, more instrumentally chaotic direction, delivering plenty of thrills along the way, and Drifting Without End soars in haunting and dramatic fashion. Poison the Well at their most melodic but filled with passion.

It’s potent right to the end, especially when something as immense as Melted comes along, where the vocals reach throat-tearing levels of intensity. Sitting comfortably alongside Plague Them the Most, which sees Poison the Well wrap up their unforgettable return in destructive fashion. Addictive destruction that feels so necessary. Only in our wildest dreams could we have expected them to come back in such a powerful way. Hopefully this will open them up to a brand-new audience too.

Poison the Well – Peace in Place Track Listing:

1. Wax Mask
2. Primal Bloom
3. Thoroughbreds
4. Everything Hurts
5. Weeping Tones
6. A Wake of Vultures
7. Bad Bodies
8. Drifting Without End
9. Melted
10. Plague Them the Most

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