Poison the Well (commonly abbreviated as PTW ) is a metalcore [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] band from South Florida currently signed to Ferret Music. Guitarist Ryan Primack (Coral Springs, FL) and drummer Chris Hornbrook (Davie, FL) are the only remaining members of the band who have been involved since their inception, although vocalist Jeffrey Moreira (Hialeah, FL) has been the singer on all five full length albums. These three are considered the core members of the band.

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History

Formation and The Opposite of December (1997 – 2000)

Poison the Well was originally named "An Acre Lost" and was started by original singer Aryeh Lehrer and original guitarist Ryan Primack. Shortly after their first release as "An Acre Lost", a 12" split with Promise No Tomorrow on OHEV Records, the name of the band was changed to Poison the Well. Poison the Well released their first album Distance Only Makes The Heart Grow Fonder in 1998. The album gained them the attention of Trustkill Records who signed them to a multi-album deal. PTW released their first album with Trustkill in 1999, The Opposite of December... A Season of Separation . Trustkill has a strong underground following in the United States, and popularity and some success was achieved. To this day, Guitar World magazine still dubs The Opposite of December one of the greatest hardcore albums of all-time, ranking number 8.

Tear from the Red and You Come Before You (2001 – 2005)

The Opposite of December gained the attention of some major labels. The album was successful enough that in 2001 the band re-released Distance Makes The Heart Grow Fonder on Undecided Records with two live bonus tracks and a slightly different title (they dropped the "Only"). Afterward, the band released one more album on Trustkill, Tear from the Red , and released a video for the song "Botchla". The popularity of the album grew and the band was signed by Atlantic Records. In 2003, a year after the release Tear from the Red , the band made their major label debut with You Come Before You .

Versions (2006 – 2008)

Although the band had experienced success being signed with a major label, on June 13, 2006, Poison the Well announced that they parted ways with Atlantic Records after only one album because of "creative differences". On November 16, 2006 Poison the Well officially joined independent label Ferret Music.

Poison the Well released "Letter Thing" as a digital-only single on March 13, 2007. The single is available via iTunes and all other download platforms. A video has also been released, with Roboshobo (The Blood Brothers, Mates of State) handling directorial duties.

Poison the Well's Versions was released on Ferret Music on April 2, 2007 in Europe and April 3, 2007 worldwide. On February 22, 2007 they began touring in support of the album.

The Tropic Rot (2009 – present)

Poison the Well traveled to New Zealand with Underoath and Every Time I Die in February 09 as part of their pre-soundwave tour. Also to support their new record they will be on the 10 for $10 tour. Their new album titled The Tropic Rot was released on July 7, 2009 and ^[6] through Ferret Music. ^[7] The album charted at #180 in its first week of release on the Billboard 200.

Members

Current members

• Jeffrey Moreira – vocals (1998 – present)
• Ryan Primack – guitar (1997 – 1998, 2001 – present)
• Chris A. Hornbrook – drums (1997 – present)
• Bradley Grace – bass guitar (2008 – present)
• Bradley Clifford – guitar (2008 – present)

Former members

• Shane Halpern – vocals (1997, original dual vocalist with Aryeh Lehrer before being replaced by Duane Hosein)
• Aryeh Lehrer – vocals (1997 – 1998, dual vocalist with Duane Hosein on Poison the Well's EP, Distance Only Makes The Heart Grow Fonder )
• Duane Hosein – vocals (1998, dual vocalist with Aryeh Lehrer on Poison the Well's EP, Distance Only Makes The Heart Grow Fonder . Also Played with A Jealousy Issue)
• Russ Saunders – guitar (1997 – 1998, original guitar player, was replaced by Derek Miller)
• Derek E. Miller – guitar (1998 – 2004, played in Opposite of December , Tear from the Red , You Come Before You )
• Jose Martinez – guitar (1998 – 1999)
• Mike MacIvor – guitar (2006 – 2008, touring Bassist, played in Candiria)
• Steve Looker – guitar (1999, played in Morning Again, Culture)
• Matt Tacket – guitar (2000, touring guitarist during summer tour)
• Mike Peters – guitar (2000, touring guitarist for end of 2000)
• Jason Boyer – guitar (2004 – 2006, wrote and recorded songs during the Versions sessions. Also played with All Hell Breaks Loose and Target Nevada)
• Andrew Abramowitz – bass (1997 – 1998, original bass player)
• Jeronimo Gomez – bass (1998, replaced Andrew Abramowitz, also played in As Friends Rust, Red Letter Day)
• Alan Landsman – bass (1999, played and toured on The Opposite of December . Sang for Until The End and Target Nevada)
• Mike Gordillo – bass (1999, touring bassist)
• Javier Van Huss – bass (1999 – 2000, touring bassist, played in Eighteen Visions)
• Iano Dovi – bass (2002, played and toured on Tear from the Red , although is not credited on the re-released vinyl version)
• Nick Shueman – bass (2002 – 2003, touring bassist)
• Jimmy Johnson – bass (2003, touring bassist)
• Geoff Bergman – bass (2003, played and toured on You Come Before You )
• Ben Brown – bass (2003 – 2006, replaced Geoff Bergman)
• Tom "Dice" Cavanaugh – bass (2006, summer tour fill-in)
• Dennis Pase – drums (1997, played on the An Acre Lost/Promise No Tomorrow split 12", replaced Chris for a 3-month absence before he rejoined)

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Title	Label	Chart peaks
			US [8]	US Indie	UK [9]
1999	The Opposite of December	Trustkill	—	—	—
2002	Tear from the Red		—	23	—
2003	You Come Before You	Atlantic	98	—	160
2007	Versions	Ferret Music	147	8	—
2009	The Tropic Rot [10]		180	30	—

EPs

Year	Title	Label
1998	Distance Only Makes the Heart Grow Fonder	Good Life
2008	I/III / II/III / III/III [11]	Ferret Music

Music videos

Year	Title	Director
2002	"Botchla"	Darren Doane
2003	"Apathy Is a Cold Body"	Chris Sims [12]
2007	"Letter Thing"	Andrew Molina [13]
2009	"Exist Underground"	Samuel Macon

Singles

Year	Title	Album
2003	"Ghostchant"[I	You Come Before You
2007	"Letter Thing"	Versions

• I ^   "Ghostchant" peaked at number 103 on the UK Singles Chart. ^[14]

References

1. http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/poison_the_well/artist.jhtml#bio
2. http://www.nme.com/artists/poison-the-well
3. http://heavymetal.about.com/od/cdreviews/fr/ptwellversions.htm
4. http://www.musicmight.com/artist/united+states/florida/poison+the+well
5. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll
6. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=4385025&blogId=478844489
7. "POISON THE WELL: New Album Title, Release Date Revealed" ''Blabbermouth.net''. Retrieved on March 27, 2009.
8. "Artist Chart History - Poison the Well" ''Billboard.com''. Retrieved on October 2, 2008.
9. "UK Chart Log - Browse 'P'" ''Zobbel''. Retrieved on October 2, 2008.
10. Karan, Tim. "Poison the Well Announce Album Title, Release Date" ''Alternative Press.com''. Retrieved on March 24, 2009.
11. Tate, Jason. "Poison the Well 7"" ''Absolutepunk.net''. Retrieved on October 2, 2008.
12. "Apathy Is a Cold Body | Poison The Well | Music Video". MTV. Retrieved on June 30, 2009.
13. "Letter Thing | Poison The Well | Music Video". MTV. Retrieved on June 30, 2009.
14. British chart