Live Review: Poison The Well - Electric Ballroom, London
17th September 2025
Support: Killing me Softly, Bodyweb
Words & Photos: Tom Atkin
Tonight we get to grace the legendary Electric Ballroom in Camden, this place is nestled away through a very unassuming door literally a stones throw from the world famous Underworld.
Opening up the nights proceedings is Killing Me Softly, who are an assault on the ears from the word go. They haven’t been around all that long, but my god do they make an impact. Apart from a small technical issue during the set, the show was flawless. Musically they have a metalcore kind of base, but with various twists, less break downs and a more mathy type presence rather than just pure aggression. The crowd were into these guys, a massive pit opened up, full of two-stepping attendees. A band worth checking out again in the future.
Next up are Bodyweb, a band made up of some of the members of Higher Power and Big Cheese, carrying over influences from both bands into a somewhat powerhouse of hardcore. You know it is going to be a fun one when they get on stage and demand two-stepping and the crowd only all to happy to comply with the request!
They don’t back down with this energy either, it is a constant onslaught that sounds impeccable, played with precision all the way through. They really did command the crowd in a way that very few bands of their stature can. Much like tonight’s openers, most people in the Ballroom were getting very much into them. Hopefully they will continue on the trajectory that they are currently riding and grow more and more.
Now for the legends that put this tour together; Poison The Well. This tour is the European leg of the their celebration of twenty five years of 'The Opposite Of December' (technically this year makes it twenty six years but that isn’t the point).
Naturally, this means that the show is very much centred around that album with it played in full, however, not in album order, just to keep the crowd on their toes.
Tonight's pretty much sold out, judging by the crowd that has now packed out the Electric Ballroom, and there is people from all age ranges here this evening, some of which look barely legal to drink yet still sporting the merch. Just showing their adoration spans generations
The album aside, they dipped in to the rest of their back catalog only ignoring their 2009's 'The Tropic Rot'. That didn’t detract from the show though, everyone thoroughly loved every minute. The crowd didn’t stop all night, even up in the balcony, which seemed more packed than earlier.
We can all hope the success of this tour spurs a return from the guys in Poison The Well, wether that is a new album or just more shows hitting the nostalgic nail on the head, they need to stick around and give their fans the music that they adore.
This night was very much themed with the genre, however with enough variation between each band to keep it different throughout. An amazing night out, with a mix of old and new. This is how shows should be.
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
