[4] Lead guitarist Ryan Primack and drummer Chris Hornbrook are the only remaining founding members (though both left for various stints in the late 1990s), with long-serving vocalist Jeffrey Moreira being featured on all five of their studio albums.

From October 2–10, 1999, Poison the Well recorded their first full-length album, The Opposite of December... A Season of Separation, with producer Jeremy Staska at Studio 13.

They performed at the Board Festival in Boston, Massachusetts, Hellfest in East Syracuse, New York, Monster Fest in Burlington, Vermont and Krazy Fest 4 in Louisville, Kentucky [19][20][21] In February 2001, Gordillo departed; a month later he was replaced by California-based bassist Javier Van Huss, formerly of the bands Enewetak, Eighteen Visions, Throwdown, Breakneck, Bleeding Through and Wrench.

[22] Bassist Iano Dovi, formerly of the band Pintsize, joined in August 2001, just in time for a two-week tour with Unearth, God Forbid and Martyr AD across Canada, the Northeast and the Midwest.

[26][27][28] The band sharing the split was originally meant to be their touring mates Twelve Tribes and Poison the Well recorded two exclusive songs in early October 2000: "Sticks and Stones Never Made Sense" and a cover of The Smashing Pumpkins' "Today".

[30][15][31] By November 2000, the split, which had been scheduled for release in December 2000, had been pushed back to late January–early February 2001 and Twelve Tribes was replaced by Florida-based band A New Kind of American Saint.

[39][38] Trustkill Records originally wanted both songs, "Sticks and Stones Never Made Sense" and their cover of The Smashing Pumpkins' "Today", to appear on their forthcoming sophomore full-length (which later took shape as Tear from the Red).

[39] On February 11, 2001, it was announced that an agreement had been struck with Trustkill Records but that it could not be released until after Poison the Well's new album was out (i.e. not until later in 2002), leading A New Kind of American Saint to drop off the project.

[40][41] Only week later, on February 18, 2001, it was reported that Throwdown, which featured members of Eighteen Visions, would replace A New Kind of American Saint on the split 7-inch vinyl.

[41][42] Throwdown immediately planned to enter the studio to record two new songs: "False Idols" and a cover of Weezer's "Say It Ain't So".

[46] Throwdown finally entered the studio to record their side of the split in mid-August 2001; by this time, their choice cover had changed to Deftones' "Around the Fur".

[54] Poison the Well had originally planned to record their sophomore album in April 2001, after returning from a booked Asian tour, with a scheduled release date of August 1, 2001.

Jacob Bannon was originally consulted to design the artwork for Tear from the Red but the band instead hired Demon Hunter bassist Don Clark at Asterik Studio.

[61][62] Trustkill Records began accepting pre-orders on February 8, 2002, and any orders placed prior to the release date included a free 18" by 24" poster.

[77][78] Nevertheless, Poison the Well ended up signing with Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group, which was operating as an independent imprint with secured financing through Atlantic Records.

[79][80][81] Poison the Well welcomed new bassist Geoffrey Bergman, formerly of Curl Up and Die, in mid-May 2002, but he did not officially take up the position until June 1, 2002, when the band embarked on a tour with Strung Out, Rise Against and Rufio[82] The bands hit the road from June 1–29, 2002 playing in the South, East Coast, Midwest and West Coast.

[83][84] From July 9 to August 9, 2002, Poison the Well toured across the entire United States supporting Kittie, Shadows Fall and Killswitch Engage.

[63][86] On August 27, 2002, Poison the Well played a surprise show at Kaffe Krystal in Miami, Florida, disguised under the name Tear from the Red on the bill.

[89] The DVD was edited by Christopher Sims through his film production company TimeCode Entertainment, and was marketed through Trustkill Records and Velvet Hammer's promotional division Streetwise Concepts & Culture.

[63][90] The success of Tear from the Red and their continuous touring schedule helped Poison The Well gain the attention of some major labels, which had started to take interest in bands coming from the hardcore scene.

[92] Both had worked on many influential mid to late nineties Swedish hardcore records, including Refused's Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent[93] and The Shape of Punk to Come.

Having experienced some level of success with their previous record, You Come Before You, a long and hard touring cycle left certain members of the band disenchanted.

[54] Poison the Well eventually regrouped, added guitarist Jason Boyer to replace Miller, and started working on new musical ideas that would be the early stages of their fourth studio album, Versions.

Poison the Well wrote the entire record in four and a half months in a condemned and purportedly haunted bar, the remnants of Ray's Downtown Blues which is now Longboards, in West Palm Beach, Florida.

[109] Ryan Primack remained involved with music, working with his former bandmate Derek Miller's band Sleigh Bells as both their production manager and second live guitar player.