Album Review: Poison The Preacher – Vs The World (Seek and Strike)

Columbian metal crossover band Poison the Preacher will release their debut album, ‘Vs the World’ on May 23rd, 2025, via Seek and Strike Records.

A bit of thrash, a bit of death, a bit of hardcore, and plenty of cultural pride; mix all this together and you’ve got the sound of Poison the Preacher. A dynamic group aiming to push heavy boundaries through sheer force. Their drive is notable, and this debut album leaves one hell of an impression, especially if you like a bit of groove and stomp with your metal.

It does not take long for this album to get nods of approval as following a guitar-focused intro called Future Tense, Poison the Preacher arrive with a brutish banger that has the power to get most head banging as well as two-stepping. It’s an excitably heavy start that shows off the breadth of their imagination, combing genres effortlessly, and working with Chris Ramos of Dead Heat to add even more intensity to things.

It sets a high bar, and then along comes Dying Every Day to smash it out of the way. A track that features Devin Swank of Sanguisugabogg and goes extremely f**king hard. Crashing drums, rampaging guitars, and vocals that are powerful enough to tear flesh from bone, it’s head banging gold.

Such quality at the start might make you fear for the rest of album though. After all, it’s impossible to sustain this kind of brilliant intensity, right? Well, this is Poison the Preacher and if there is one thing this album tells all of us, it’s that they operate on a level above most other metal bands. This is why 1312, Hate Too Much, Congelado en el Tiempo, and Promise to Pay kick as much ass as what came before and what comes after. Each slams with force, each gets the heart racing, each encourages violent thoughts, and each demands blood, sweat, and tears from its listeners. That the latter really leans into their Latin American heritage is extra special.

They’ve absolutely delivered gold on this debut album already, and then along comes One Man Army and Us Against the World. The former, a drop in tempo (at least up until the end where things go wild), but with thicker sounding riffs, dirty chug, and gnarly fist swinging breakdowns. The latter, utter stompy madness where the goal is one thing, and it’s going to freaking hurt. Straight up heavy fire, and the perfect exclamation mark for this banger album. Yeah, this one is class.

Poison the Preacher – Vs the World Track Listing:

1. Future Tense
2. Sucker Punch (ft. Chris Ramos of Dead Heat)
3. Dying Every Day (ft. Devin Swank of Sanguisugabogg)
4. 1312
5. Hate Too Much
6. Congelado en el Tiempo
7. Promise To Pay
8. One Man Army
9. Us Against the World

Links

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