Poison The Well’s highly influential debut album, The Opposite of December turns 20 this year and we have commentary on the album from drummer Chris Hornbrook. Enjoy the read and let us know your thoughts on The Opposite of December twenty years later.

First of all, how does it feel knowing The Opposite of December turns 20 this year?

It’s pretty crazy to be honest. Never in a million years did I think I would be talking about that record twenty years later. Our hopes and wants were pretty simple at the time for OOD. Needless to say we surpassed that in every way.

How did you feel when the album came out?

I can’t really remember. I think I was a little bit bummed with how the record sounded and my performance on it. OOD was my first legit LP I played drums on. I had high expectations of myself that I don’t feel like I delivered on. I was able to redeem myself in my eyes later down the road. But that was the best I could do at 18/19 years old.

Where do you think the album fits in the band's legacy?

It’s hard to say because I was heavily intrenched in PTW. I’ve helped write every record and have been very involved with the recording process’ from start to finish. From what I can see from the outside is that it’s an important record in our catalogue and a defining record in Metalcore / Hardcore from that era. A prominent YouTuber, The Punk Rock MBA, said “I think this is the template for modern Metalcore”. Which is kind of wild to think about. We were just a bunch of teenagers throwing some riffs we thought were kinda cool together, not thinking too much about anything else. It’s amazing to have been apart of something special like that.

How did the band approach writing?

Write the best stuff we can. Make it interesting and unique. Create something that we would be proud of. Nothing more.

Do any of the themes touched on the album still hold relevant for you after 20 years?

Somewhat. Later records for myself because I feel closer to them in terms of when they came out. I can relate more to the music and period of time. O.O.D. and T.F.T.R. were late teens and early twenties. I was still figuring out a lot of things and processing serious life changes that were happening at the time. It’s all a little blurry.