Versions (Poison the Well album)

Versions is Poison the Well's fourth studio album. It was released on April 2, 2007, in Europe and April 3, 2007, World Wide via Ferret Music. Versions is the first release for Poison the Well on Ferret Music and is also the band's first release since 2003's You Come Before You. In Japan, the album was released by Howling Bull Entertainment and features the bonus track "Oceanbreast".

Versions
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 2, 2007
Recorded
  • May 2005
  • November–December 2006[1]
StudioTonteknik Recording Studios, Umeå, Sweden
Genre
Length41:58
LabelFerret Music
Producer
  • Eskil Lövström
  • Pelle Henricsson
Poison the Well chronology
You Come Before You
(2003)
Versions
(2007)
The Tropic Rot
(2009)
Singles from Versions
  1. "Letter Thing"
    Released: March 13, 2007[2]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk.net82%[3]
AllMusic[4]
Alternative Press4.5/5[5]
Chronicles of Chaos8/10[6]
Metal.de8/10[7]
Ox-Fanzine10/10[8]
Spin[9]

The trio of Ryan Primack (guitar), Chris Hornbrook (drums) and Jeffrey Moreira (vocals) wrote the album over a number of years. Primack describes the material as having many more colors and nuances than previous work. "The songs are pretty open-ended and there's a lot of unique instrumentation in the background throughout such as mandolins, slide guitar, horns and banjo," he says.[10]

Primack, who plays all of the more unusual instruments on the disc, adds, "This is not out of the blue. We actually started to add these elements to the last album but we didn't have time to flesh them out like with 'Versions'. It's going to be a really different sounding album in hardcore. Well, as different as you can be in hardcore nowadays."[10]

Track listing

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  1. "Letter Thing" - 2:28
  2. "Breathings for the Birds" - 3:41
  3. "Nagaina" - 4:10
  4. "The Notches That Create Your Headboard" - 2:30
  5. "Pleading Post" - 3:36
  6. "Slow Good Morning" - 5:05
  7. "Prematurito el Baby" - 2:53
  8. "Composer Meet Corpse" - 2:30
  9. "You Will Not Be Welcomed" - 4:46
  10. "Naive Monarch" - 2:24
  11. "Riverside" - 3:02
  12. "The First Day of My Second Life" - 4:53

Bonus Tracks:

  1. "Wreck Itself Taking You With Me" – 3:21 (European & vinyl bonus track)
  2. "Oceanbreast" 4:17 – (Japanese bonus track)

Singles

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To coincide with a string of headlining dates, and in support of Versions, Poison the Well released the album's opening track "Letter Thing" as a digital-only single on March 13. The single is available via iTunes and all other download platforms. A video has also been released for "Letter Thing", directed by Roboshobo (The Blood Brothers, Mates of State). The video features stop motion animation figures which speak in subtitled Norse runes throughout the video, saying the following: "The hour grows near; The weak flesh shall be tempered by fire; Face what is yours; With this ring, I thee wed"

Credits

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References

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  1. ^ Recording:
    • "Poison The Well recording new album". lambgoat.com. May 19, 2005. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
    • "Poison The Well resumes recording". lambgoat.com. November 11, 2006. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
    • "Poison The Well finishes recording album". lambgoat.com. December 11, 2006. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  2. ^ "Poison The Well to issue digital-only single". lambgoat.com. February 2, 2007. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  3. ^ Beringer, Drew (April 1, 2007). "Poison The Well - Versions". AbsolutePunk. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  4. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. Versions at AllMusic
  5. ^ Kauffman, Ronen (June 28, 2007). "Poison The Well - Versions". Alternative Press Magazine. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  6. ^ Smit, Jackie (March 25, 2007). "CoC : Poison the Well - Versions : Review". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  7. ^ Sickinger, Norman (April 4, 2007). "Poison The Well - Versions Review". metal.de. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  8. ^ Wahle, Sebastian (April 2007). "Review - Poison the Well - Versions CD". Ox-Fanzine (in German). Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  9. ^ Burgess, Aaron (May 2007). "Reviews: New CDs". Spin. Vol. 23, no. 5. SPIN Media LLC. p. 90. ISSN 0886-3032.
  10. ^ a b Blabbermouth (2007-01-17). "POISON THE WELL Putting Finishing Touches On New Album". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2024-08-12.