MCB: Now that the band is back on an indie label, is there a sense of relief getting out from the decaying major label format?

RP: I don’t know if it’s a sense of relief, but it definitely feels more comfortable being on Ferret Music versus a major. Being in the situation we’re in now is how these sort of label situations should be. They understand the bands a bit better. We knew a lot of the bands, as well as the owner of Ferret, so it was just an easy fit.

MCB: Do you have you have your creative control of the band and its sound back with Ferret?

RP: I always felt we had 100% control of our band, even with the major label. But you could tell that it was changing, because there were too many opinions starting to come into play before we left.

MCB: What sort of themes do you feel were the most important to put on the Versions record, as well as any other records the band has put out in the past?

RP: Generally, frustration around us becomes one of the themes of every album. We tend to keep things dense and cluttered as well. But on the new record, we added more instrumentation than ever on it. We always played with different instrumentation, but we let it all out on Versions. We tried to fit as many new sounds in there as we could, and add broad strokes to the music.

MCB: Do you guys tend to shy away from the “metalcore” label that bands get labeled?

RP: I have nothing negative to say about it, but I tend to not pay attention to that label.

MCB: What do you think of many of the bands from that scene that headed in a mainstream rock direction (Avenged Sevenfold, Atreyu, etc.)?

RP: I believe everyone makes their own choices, and that’s their right to change their sound. But that’s not for us. We want to make the music that pleases us and our fans, and I think we have done that.

MCB: There are a bunch of bands coming from Florida that just sound enraged these days. What brings forth that intensity?

RP: I think it has to do with the day-to-day living down there. But Miami has a really cool vibe to it because it's so multicultural and you will see a lot of different influences. Plus, I think a lot of it comes from the oppressive heat; summer never ends there. That heat causes frustration and adds to the music.

Poison The Well is playing at the Magic Stick on Thursday, February 7^th. Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional dates can be found at www.poisonthewell.com.