Poison the Well then reunited with Hatebreed for the Perseverance Tour 2002 which took the bands through the Midwest and West Coast from February 28 to March 19, 2002. They were accompanied by Bane and What Feeds the Fire on all dates and Hemlock for one of the legs; Bane, however, had to pull out towards the end of the tour when their close friend Steve Neale passed away. It was while Poison the Well was on this tour that Tear from the Red blew up in the media. The album entered Billboard's charts on March 9, 2002, reaching number 23 on the Independent Albums chart and number 36 on the Heatseekers Albums charts. Tear from the Red also entered CMJ's charts, topping the Most Added chart, reaching number 1 on the Loud Rock College chart, number 4 on the Radio 200 and Loud Rock Crucial Spin charts and number 22 on the Retail 100 chart. The band immediately began to be courted by major record labels, much to the dissatisfaction of Trustkill Records, who attempted to renew their soon-expiring contract. 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.
