Arts & Entertainment
 

Well sells out label, not sound

By Zach Lee
The Daily Cougar

One thing can't be argued about Poison the Well's newest offering, You Come Before You. It doesn't sound like anything put out by a major label. 

Nothing on it has the makings of a radio hit. There are no blatant attempts at catering to the musical tastes of the masses. But there, on the bottom corner of the jewel case is the Atlantic logo that has caused so much controversy. This is the band's major label debut, and its underground fan base has splintered into several groups over that fact. 

The band's two previous full length releases, Tear From the Red (2002), and The Opposite of December (2000), on Trustkill Records, helped build a substantial following of the sound the band refers to on its Web site as "noise-core emo."

The mixture of heavy screams and melodic singing also worked for several other bands in the late 1990s. Of course, the quintet's makeup is far from stable. The band has been through three guitarists, three singers, three bass players and two drummers since 1998. That aside, the band's popularity with underground hardcore punks was relatively constant until news of the major label signing.

That said, its sound hasn't strayed too much from that of its previous releases. Its lyrics remain true to the band's "noise-core emo" vision, mixing longing for lost love with compelling imagery of death, as seen in the screaming melodies of "Meeting Again for the First Time:" "You grow accustomed to seeing the sun in a different location/ Standing still becomes a chore/ Anxious to get the pavement moving/ Happiness is not having to lie on the floor dead alone."

Songs like "The Realist" and "Apathy is a Cold Body" bring poetic storytelling to the album, but non-fans will probably walk away unimpressed. The band's sound also isn't too distinctive. Underground bands have played this kind of music for years, and bands like Linkin Park have already shown what commercialization of the genre can do.

The CD was partially produced in Sweden, home to some of the hardest, loudest, most abrasive music ever made, and certain riffs have just a taste of the country's famous grind-core spirit. This CD stays true to all of Poison the Well's earlier work, even though the band is making more money and an evil corporation has left its mark on the bottom corner of the jewel case. That same corporation hasn't left a mark on the sound, though, and fans won't be disappointed.

You Come Before You

Poison the Well

Velvet Hammer/Atlantic Records

The verdict: It didn't have to sell out with its sound to sell out with their label.

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