After kicking off a cryptic promo campaign late last week, metalcore veterans Poison the Well are now galloping out the gate with news of their first full-length release in nearly 17 years. Dubbed PEACE IN PLACE, the album is being previewed in advance through ripping first single “Thoroughbreds.”
Last week, Poison the Well posited that they were up to something via an Instagram vid showing close-ups of a horse tromping through dirt, which was scored by a twinge of gothic-western guitar noise and a rumbling beat. Today (January 13th), the band unveiled the track’s double-time hardcore sections, brawny breakdowns and impassioned vocals in full.
In a statement, vocalist Jeffrey Moreira explains that his lines reflect stubbornness and separation (“My voice kills yours / Your voice kills mine”). He adds: “‘Thoroughbreds’ is about realizing that some lifelong bonds don’t fail early; they fail after you believed they were there to stay.”
Despite the topic, he also adds that Poison the Well’s reunion phase is in good shape.
“Coming back 16 years later — unsure if I could still do what I once left behind — only reinforced how strong our bond is and how much this band has given me. I’m grateful to do this again with my friends, and to share a record made with honesty, intention, and connection at its core.”
Poison the Well spent 2025 celebrating their 1999 debut LP The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation across multiple anniversary tours, though the year also saw the release of “Trembling Level,” the band’s first piece of new music since the release of 2009’s The Tropic Rot LP.
Moreira now says that the upcoming PEACE IN PLACE, which was recorded with Will Putney (Better Lovers, Fit for an Autopsy), is “probably the most pissed record we’ve ever made.” All the same, anger apparently isn’t the driving factor of the record.
“It’s about turning something negative into something honest, putting it into the world, and realizing that even in anger, we’re still capable of moving forward, relating to each other, and finding some form of peace,” he says.
PEACE IN PLACE is due out March 20th through SharpTone Records. Revolver has an exclusive “solid gold” vinyl variant, limited to 500 — order yours now.
PEACE IN PLACE tracklisting:
Wax Mask
Primal Bloom
Thoroughbreds
Everything Hurts
Weeping Tones
A Wake of Vultures
Bad Bodies
Drifting Without End
Melted
Plague Them the Most