Once in a while, a band comes along that takes the world by storm seemingly overnight. Don’t look now, but the Canadian Metal three-piece Spiritbox is that band. With that in mind, their debut album, Eternal Blue, dropped on Friday, September 17, 2021, via Rise Records and immediately took over the radio waves, raking in millions of streams worldwide.
In anticipation of the album, originally set for release back in 2020, but was put on hold due to the pandemic, Spiritbox dropped the first single “Holy Roller” in July of 2020, earning them the No. 1 song of the year on SiriusXM. Vocalist Courtney LaPlante, Guitarist Michael Stringer, and Bassist Bill Cook quickly became the most talked about band in Metal. For months, you could not tune in without seeing one of your favorite bands drop a single featuring LaPlante, racking up features faster than Thanos collecting Infinity Stones. Where most would have succumbed to the pressure of living up to their acclaimed fame, Spiritbox unleased their own brand of hell onto the music scene.
Complete with 12 tracks, “Sun Killer” starts things off like a whisper to a scream. Fully showcasing LaPlante’s vocal prowess, her haunting melodies paired with the song’s dark ambiance perfectly set the stage for what was to come. Then “Hurt You” comes in hard, hitting you like a slug to the chest. Combining the band’s love of Nu Metal with all of the drama and turmoil of what it is like to be trapped in a toxic relationship. Keeping that same momentum, “Yellowjacket” is an insanely hard cut with a double drop-D guitar tuning that hits deep in your soul. Additionally, it features Architect’s Frontman Sam Carter, bringing a unique touch to an already stellar song with a ’90s Alternative Rock feel.
Moving right along, “The Summit” and “Secret Garden” are wonderful displays of the band’s versatility. The emotive lyrics and soft-driven melodies, with ‘The Summit” taking inspiration vocally from artists like The Weeknd and Charli XCX, while “Secret Garden” is heavily influenced by the band’s love for Deftones. Transitioning into “Silk in the Strings,” it encompasses everything we love about heavy songs, that intense driving force that feels like the artist is hammering a nail into your skull. This is before the title-track which feels like the soaring climax of the album featuring a Synth-Pop mixed with gnashing teeth, hashing out the detriment of dealing with depression and all its ugliness.
There are also songs like “We Live In a Strange World” which will make you forget what band you are listening to with its Pop beats and seemingly sunny disposition. Coming to a close, the last few songs feel like the final battle before the film credits. Among these are “Halcyon” and “Circle With Me” which are so aesthetically pleasing. A mixture of light and dark, soft and heavy – blending together the band’s ability to create a sound that is so effortlessly unique. This leads us to the closer, “Constance,” which is a perfect curtain call. Written as a way to deal with losing her grandmother, LaPlante explained how the song helped her deal with losing someone, and it was dedicated to her because she had always wanted her to put out a song that didn’t feature screaming in it.
All in all, Eternal Blue is the complete package. A beautifully crafted debut album that solidifies Spiritbox’s place in the scene, it is a certified candidate for Album of the Year. Full of passion, and intensity and showcasing Spiritbox’s dedication to constantly pushing boundaries, Cryptic Rock gives Eternal Blue 5 out of 5 stars.
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