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After the monstrous success of their 2021 debut album Eternal Blue, Spiritbox have quickly turned from everyone’s best kept secret to a household name within the metalcore scene. A few tours around the world and hundreds of millions of streams later (plus an appearance on a Megan Thee Stallion track, of all people) Courtney LaPlante and co. have taken the scene by storm, and are only just getting started with their path towards world domination. Rarely have we seen such a meteoric rise to fame quite like the Canadian quartet, and it’s now a fact that their reputation is surely set to rise higher thanks to the release of their sophomore album Tsunami Sea, which is dedicated to former bassist Bill Crook who tragically passed away last July.
It’s hard to imagine how they could top their debut’s opener, Sun Killer, but they have absolutely smashed all expectations and made their greatest intro track to date with Fata Morgana. Straight from the get go, a mere 7 seconds in, the band catapult the listener into one of the nastiest and heaviest riffs they have ever written, complete with the classic string scrapes that guitarist Mike produces over an eerily haunting atmospheric backdrop. “Sorrow follows me/I feel it in my inhale, when I breathe/I can feel it in the exhale, underneath/Cascading over everyone and everything” are the brutal first lines growled by LaPlante, setting the tone for the next 11 songs perfectly. It really goes without saying that this is one of the strongest, if not THE strongest song on the album. And it’s only the first fucking track.
It’s not just pure aggression all the time, though – the album has some melodic and very experimental twists and turns too. Take the track Crystal Roses as an example – a song that acts like one Pendulum would make, with a massive drum and bass influence, alongside Courtney’s autotuned vocals. I know what you’re thinking – fucking autotune? Well, don’t knock it ’till you try it – when you take into account just how popular BMTH-esque hyperpop metal is nowadays, it only seems fitting to let Spiritbox have a go! Another highlight is Black Rainbow (which really should’ve been a single) as they’ve used the 2000s industrial stylings of groups like Ministry and Nine Inch Nails to create a gritty, tech metal song unlike any other. Courtney’s vocals in the verses, as well as in the “Dissolve, displace, rejoice, repeat” breakdown refrain, sound like fellow metalcore singer Poppy, who Courtney was once hilariously mistaken for! It’s robotic, hypnotic and downright entrancing.
Aside from the album’s title, there are a lot of aquatic-based themes that the record centres around, which becomes clear in song titles such as Ride the Wave, Deep End and Fata Morgana (which is named after an optical illusion referring to a sea’s horizon) to name just 3. This serves as a perfect continuation from their debut too – if Eternal Blue was an aural embodiment of a gentle wave barely reaching the shore, then Tsunami Sea is the slow yet rapid progression that eventually turns the water treacherous and becomes harmful to life. For them to continue this imagery is a smart move, and for them to also implement sea noises into the mix at certain times is brilliant too, as it perfectly encapsulates the album’s title and theme.
The album’s finale, Deep End, is beautifully crafted – normally if an album starts with a heavy track, you’d want to end it with another heavy track, but Spiritbox decide to change that narrative. Instead, they decide to finish things off with another melodic and anthemic number. This song, in particular, showcases Courtney’s clean vocals perfectly, and makes it feel like you’re listening to a different vocalist that you heard previously on tracks such as Soft Spine. “Wind on the current/Carried the wrong way/Down in the deep end/Lost in my own waves” are the final lines sung on this masterpiece of an album, before some gentle acoustic guitar notes fade the record out into the dark and echoey unknown.
A month ago, the band played, and sold out, their biggest UK headline show to date at London’s prestigious Alexandra Palace. After listening to this album, it’s clear that the next time we’ll see the group tour our shores, it’ll be somewhere much bigger. The O2? Wembley Arena? The possibilities are endless. However, one thing is absolutely certain – wherever Spiritbox go next, it’s only going to be upwards.
Tsunami Sea is available now via Pale Chord/Rise Records. More information, HERE.
Review – Joe Richardson
Photo credit – Jonathan Weiner
Tour Dates:
24/6 – Milan, IT – I-Days Festival^
26/6 – Arnhem, NL – Gelredome^
28/6 – London, UK – Wembley Stadium^
^with Linkin Park
