Florida metalcore pioneers Poison The Well have confirmed the Australian support acts for their long-awaited June 2026 headline tour, their first performances in Australia since 2009.
by Paul Cashmere
Florida metalcore pioneers Poison The Well have revealed the local support line-up for their upcoming Australian headline tour in June 2026, marking the band’s first performances in the country in 17 years. The run of shows will see the group perform their landmark debut album The Opposite Of December…A Season Of Separation in full, joined by Boston hardcore act Haywire and Melbourne’s Iron Mind.
The Opposite Of December…A Season Of Separation, released in 1999, is widely considered one of the records that helped define modern metalcore, blending emotionally driven hardcore with melodic structures and punishing guitar work. Its impact has extended well beyond its era, influencing the evolution of heavy music across the following decades.
The June tour also arrives during a renewed chapter for Poison The Well. The band recently announced their first new studio album in more than 16 years, Peace In Place, scheduled for release on March 20. The record follows 2009’s The Tropic Rot, closing the longest recording gap in the band’s history and signalling a renewed creative cycle for the Florida group.
Across the Australian shows, each city will feature a different local opener. Perth’s End It All will launch the tour with their breakdown-driven metalcore style. Adelaide audiences will see straight edge hardcore band Stressed, while Melbourne’s show includes Ends In Tragedy. In Sydney, longtime scene veterans Phantoms will join the bill. Newcastle will feature local hardcore group Cutthroat, and Brisbane will host Wetwork.
The presence of Haywire and Iron Mind as national support acts adds further weight to the line-up. Boston-based Haywire have developed a reputation for a volatile fusion of hardcore intensity and thrash-influenced pace. The band formed around vocalist Austin Sparkman, whose background includes involvement with underground acts such as Buried Dreams, Conservative Military Image and Rude Awakening. Their recent tracks, including Like A Train and Get To Steppin, highlight a sharp combination of aggression and rhythmic momentum.
Before arriving in Australia, Haywire will spend early 2026 touring North America with Dropkick Murphys and later joining Drain for further shows across the United States. The Australian tour will mark the band’s first performances in the country.
Melbourne’s Iron Mind bring a long-standing reputation within the Australian hardcore scene. Formed in 2006, the band has spent nearly two decades building an international profile through relentless touring and a catalogue that balances traditional hardcore structures with heavier metallic textures. They have previously shared stages with acts including Speed, No Warning, Backtrack, Harm’s Way and Turnstile, reinforcing their position as one of Australia’s most consistent hardcore exports.
For Poison The Well, the upcoming tour represents both a retrospective and a continuation. Formed in South Florida in the late 1990s, the band helped reshape the emotional scope of heavy music by integrating melodic passages and introspective lyric themes within a hardcore framework. Albums such as You Come Before You in 2003 and Versions in 2007 expanded their sound further, introducing experimental textures and broader songwriting approaches while maintaining the intensity that defined their early work.
The influence of The Opposite Of December…A Season Of Separation continues to be recognised within the heavy music community, frequently cited in retrospective lists of essential metalcore releases. Its combination of emotional urgency and technical aggression set a blueprint for many of the bands that followed during the 2000s metalcore expansion.
While the Australian tour celebrates that foundational album, the timing also coincides with the release cycle of Peace In Place, a record that reflects the band’s first sustained creative output since their hiatus period following The Tropic Rot.
For fans of heavy music, the return of Poison The Well to Australian stages highlights the enduring influence of late-1990s metalcore on contemporary heavy scenes. Bands that helped establish the genre’s language continue to reconnect with audiences that discovered the music both at its origin and through later generations of artists shaped by its sound.
With six shows scheduled across the country, the tour brings together several generations of hardcore and metalcore performers, linking an influential international act with emerging and established names from the Australian underground.
POISON THE WELL – AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2026
Sunday 7 June, Perth, Magnet House
Tuesday 9 June, Adelaide, Lion Arts Factory
Thursday 11 June, Melbourne, 170 Russell
Friday 12 June, Sydney, Metro Theatre
Saturday 13 June, Newcastle, King St Bandroom
Sunday 14 June, Brisbane, Princess Theatre
Tickets from destroyalllines.com
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