A Triumphant Return: Poison The Well Kick Off Sick New World Festival Weekend In Las Vegas

After a 17 year long hiatus, the Florida-based metalcore act Poison The Well was back with a brand new record, Peace In Place. Midway through their 2026 tour run, they were schedule to make a stop in Las Vegas to perform at Sick New World festival. However, before the day of the festival, it was announced Poison The Well was playing a sideshow, along with Terror, Pain of Truth, and End It. This was a perfect way to get themselves warmed up and show why they deserved to play onstage at the festival the following day.

Once I arrived at the House of Blues, I made it inside the venue just in time for Pain Of Truth, a hardcore band from New York. Frontman Michael Smith moved around the stage with frantic energy, calling out for mosh pits. Pain Of Truth were loud, punchy, and energetic, everything you could ask for in a hardcore show.

Up next was the band Terror, a hardcore group from Los Angeles. Formed in 2002, Terror have essentially become an institution within the genre and have gained a loyal following. Living up to their reputation, they waste no time onstage. From the first song, the crowd splits into a huge mosh pit. Frontman Scott Vogel calls out that despite there being a barricade in front of the stage, preventing people from stage diving, the crowd must overcome and defeat the barricade by sending over as many crowd surfers as they can. A wave of bodies being literally flung over ensued, as security scrambled trying their best to catch everyone. Terror was unrelenting until the end, proving their reputation is absolutely warranted.

Finally it was time for the main event. As the lights dimmed, a bright LCD screen lit up the stage with the bands logo, and one by one members of Poison The Well made their way onstage. Ripping into classic songs like “Botchla” and “Zombies Are Good For Your Health,” their set was full of nostalgia from their early career. You would’ve never assumed this band had just recently returned from a very long hiatus simply by watching them perform. Onstage they were fluid and in sync with each other, and their playing was incredibly precise. Every breakdown was carried a massive weight and every mosh call was answered. It’s like they never left.

Towards the end of their set, they thanked the audience for being there and hoping to see many of them during their time slot at Sick New World the next day. Poison The Well delivered a set of that perfectly captured what made them so influential in the early 2000’s, and more to the point, to show why they decided to come back. Not many bands can have a successful comeback after so many years, but Poison The Well showed they still have plenty of gas left in the tank.