Poison the Well Peace In Place
Released Mar 20, 2026 SHARPTONE
Consensus forming 3 professional reviews Updated Mar 20, 2026
Broadly positive consensus
Consensus is still forming across 3 professional reviews. Poison the Well's Peace In Place arrives as a confident comeback that reconnects the band with the snarling, melodic core that defined their early work while pushing a few fresh edges.
How ChoruScore worksCritics' Top Tracks
The songs critics returned to most
Wax Mask
3 critic mentions
“From the opening "Wax Mask" onwards, the band's sixth full-length album straddles the divide” — Blabbermouth
Everything Hurts
3 critic mentions
“You’d rarely hear anything like the stripped back intro and personality-crisis chorus of Everything Hurts from a modern metalcore band,” — Distored Sound Magazine
Thoroughbreds
3 critic mentions
“Thoroughbreds has an urgency and introspection that brings to mind a more metallic AT THE DRIVE-IN.” — Distored Sound Magazine
Full critic consensus
Poison the Well's Peace In Place arrives as a confident comeback that reconnects the band with the snarling, melodic core that defined their early work while pushing a few fresh edges. Across three professional reviews the record earned an 80/100 consensus score, and critics repeatedly point to the visceral energy and vocal power that make songs like “Wax Mask”, “Everything Hurts” and “Primal Bloom” immediate standouts.
The critical consensus emphasizes mastery of genre and authenticity: reviewers praise the album's old-school metalcore roots - thunderous riffs, larynx-testing roars and crushing breakdowns - alongside surprising moments of genre-blending and experimentation. “Wax Mask” is cited in every review as a highlight, praised for melodic detours amid relentless aggression; “Everything Hurts” and “Primal Bloom” are likewise noted for urgency and memorable hooks. Critics also single out deeper cuts such as “A Wake Of Vultures” and “Drifting Without End” for revealing the record's layered, rewarding depths.
Perspectives vary enough to give nuance: some reviewers frame Peace In Place as a triumphant return that sounds freshly potent, while others call it a grower whose rewards arrive after repeated listens. Across three professional reviews, the consensus suggests the album is worth hearing for fans of raw live energy, dynamic contrasts and a band that has embraced both their past identity and selective experimentation. For readers weighing whether Peace In Place is good, the 80/100 consensus score and repeated praise for its standout tracks make a persuasive case.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Wax Mask
Primal Bloom
Thoroughbreds
Everything Hurts
Weeping Tones
A Wake Of Vultures
Bad Bodies
Drifting Without End
Melted
Plague Them The Most
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album
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Critic's Take
POISON THE WELL sound like they stepped out of a 2005 garage on Peace In Place, and the best tracks - notably “Wax Mask” and “Primal Bloom” - feel like lost classics reclaimed. The reviewer's giddy, slightly snarky reverence stays intact as he praises the album's thundering riffs, larynx-wrecking roars and dark melodicism, arguing these are the best songs on Peace In Place because they combine fury with memorable hooks. He writes with that affectionate, scene-savvy tone, celebrating how “Wax Mask” offers melodic meanderings amid relentless aggression, while “Thoroughbreds” and “Everything Hurts” supply urgency and off-kilter personality. The conclusion is blunt and upbeat - this is an unpolished, earnest comeback record whose best tracks prove the band never lost their edge.
Key Points
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Wax Mask is the best song because it balances melodic moments with relentless riffs, sounding like a lost classic.
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The album's core strength is its raw, unpolished authenticity and old-school metalcore energy delivered in a tight 36-minute runtime.
Themes
Critic's Take
Poison The Well return on Peace In Place feels like a triumphant reclamation, the record insisting they have not lost a step. The review highlights the best tracks - “Wax Mask”, “Everything Hurts” and “Thoroughbreds” - as exemplars of their vivid dynamism, arresting clean vocals and destructive chugging breakdowns. There is a confidence here, a band in full command of what made them essential, and the closer “Plague Them The Most” proves softer moments still land with vicious purpose. This is the kind of comeback that answers the question fans have been asking, with performances that feel both familiar and freshly potent.
Key Points
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Wax Mask is best for embodying the band’s ragged fury and enthralling dynamism.
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The album’s core strengths are vocal contrast, precise heaviness, and confident comeback momentum.
Themes
Bl
Critic's Take
Poison the Well sound like a band returned to their own rules on Peace In Place, and the best songs show why. The opener “Wax Mask” and the bruising “Bad Bodies” stand out as immediate highlights, while “A Wake Of Vultures” and “Drifting Without End” reveal the album's strange, rewarding depths. The reviewer revels in the record's willingness to be weird and non-commercial, praising inventive riffs and shapeshifting songs that make these tracks the best songs on Peace In Place. Overall, this feels like a grown-up, fearlessly experimental return that will reward attentive listeners.
Key Points
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The best song moments, like on "Wax Mask", combine adventurous riffing with shapeshifting song structures that define the record's strengths.
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The album's core strength is fearless experimentation and genre-blending that rewards attentive listening.