SNW SIDESHOW: Poison the Well – HoBLV

On March 17, Sick New World announced three sideshows and this was one of them. End It, Pain Of Truth and Terror supporting Poison The Well for this show was not on my bingo card for this year, wow!!!

END IT – Baltimore based hardcore band End It sets off the show with their captivating energy and vocalist Akil Godsey is a jovial character on stage to witness, from expressing his thanks to poking fun with his fellow bandmates and thanking the crowd for their participation is beautiful.

This is End It’s first show in Las Vegas and for it to be at the House of Blues has to be life changing for all the band members, how many bands can you name that their Las Vegas show is at the House of Blues? Truly a monumental achievement for the band, to add – they are on Sick New World’s main bill (obviously, duh) – well done, seriously.

PAIN OF TRUTH – This is the band right here. Coming all the way from Long Island, New York, we have Pain Of Truth representing New York all the way in Sin City. Last year they released a split ep with San Jose
hardcore band Sunami and have introduced those songs, “Shattered Past” and “The Enemy”, into their setlist. While those newer singles are incredible, I love that they still play their older material like “The Test” and “Blood On Your Hands”

I lost count on how many kicks and jumps the band was doing throughout the set, I felt like I was losing weight while they conducted acrobatics. Scott Vogel from Terror came one for one of their songs and so did their touring manager who plays in a band called Laid 2 Rest. Witnessing these features was incredibly hype but the one thing that happened that took me by surprise was when their vocalist gave the guitarist the mic, and the guitarist giving the vocalist the microphone then proceeding to perform. I truly don’t know any band that does that? Are you kidding me?

TERROR – If you listen to hardcore, you should know Terror. Terror is a staple in the hardcore world and it is mandatory for you to give them a listen if you love hardcore. Terror has played shows in Las Vegas for years in smaller venues like American Legion Post 8 and Eagle Aerie Hall in Henderson.

Their merch guy looked familiar and holy shit! It’s Dan from King Nine! Alright well, I guess I am putting everyone on the band King Nine, another great hardcore band from New York. Dan came out for a song, they could’ve had anyone else but I think it is so special and so cool to have someone close to them come out for a quick feature. The band also released their new album “Still Suffer” the same day as this show.

POISON THE WELL – A band that has stood the test of time, if you like Converge and Norma Jean, may I introduce to you Poison the Well? They were originally active from 1997 to 2010 and did a couple of one-off shows in 2015 and 2016, looks like something sparked a full comeback that initiated in 2020.

This band is important, a lot of hardcore and metal bands that you listen to today are heavily influenced by Poison the Well. Their 1999 record “The Opposite of December… A Season Of Separation” is a staple, and their song “Nerdy” from that record, well let’s just say that intro is iconic and anybody that knows this band will instantly recognize the first 3 seconds.

Poison The Well’s first show back in Las Vegas since – I actually don’t know I can imagine it’s been over a decade. This is also another band on the bill that released a new record this year, titled “Peace In Place.” After Sick New World, the band embark on their spring tour beginning in May on the 7th in Denver, Colorado w/ Converge, The Armed and The Barbarians of California.

We hope to see Poison The Well come back to Vegas for another show soon, the turnout at the House of Blues is a strong victory for the band.

Catch Poison The Well on their upcoming spring tour beginning in May:

• 5/7 Denver, CO Summit – 5/9 Austin, TX Stubb’s Outdoors – 5/10 Houston, TX House of Blues –
• 5/12 Phoenix, AZ Nile Theater – 5/13 Los Angeles, CA The Belasco – 5/15 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
• 5/16 San Diego, CA The Observatory North Park – 5/17 San Francisco, CA The Regency Ballroom
  
  Thanks for stopping by,
  
  Chris

PHOTO CREDIT: Live photos by Chris Rosalejos for ZRockR Magazine – @2026 – All Rights Reserved.