Spiritbox Keep up the Hype with New Album ‘Tsunami Sea’ (Review)
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Spiritbox has been growing steadily since the start of the decade. By combining styles of metal with electronic and pop production they keep pushing the genre of metalcore to both sides of the coin. The electronic elements of the production make everything bigger and epic. Courtney LaPlante continuously showcases the extent of her talent, not only as a singer but as a songwriter as well. The bouncy riffs provided by Mike Stringer give Spiritbox as much of its trademark sound as Courtney’s vocals do. It’s no wonder that the married couple also played in iwrestledabearonce back in 2015. Now they have pushed the envelope with Spiritbox and their sophomore album is no exception.
The singles from ‘Tsunami Sea‘ were already making an impact on the metalcore scene. Spiritbox came out swinging with the single ‘Soft Spine‘. A track that releases rage in such a hateful but cathartic way that it has become one of the bigger moments at their shows with callouts such as “You all deserve each other!”. In comparison, ‘Perfect Soul‘ is more of a high-octane ballad with eerie and heartfelt lyrics and melodies but with the Spiritbox touch. The final single ‘No Loss, No Love‘ came in with creepy synths and brutal vocals. The song has more of a desolate and eerie feeling in comparison to the previous ones.
The album came with several heavy hitters besides the singles such as ‘Black Rainbow‘ and ‘A Haven With Two Faces‘. The latter feels quite similar to Spiritbox’s older material while the former feels like a completely new essence. Furthermore, tracks like ‘Tsunami Sea‘, ‘Crystal Roses‘, and ‘Deep End‘ have more of an electronic element and clean vocals that give the record balance. In between a sense of anger, desolation, and melancholy, the project is a culmination of their growth as a band. The songwriting gets more profound and the production and technical ability allows them to expand on their sound.
The only criticism is that the album feels a bit disjointed at times. Some tracks feel like they don’t belong with others. The dynamic range of the LP is also very monotonous due to the heavily compressed style of new metalcore production. Some songs could benefit from more volume diversity although I understand the name of the game nowadays is loudness. Overall this is a fantastic sophomore release for Spiritbox.
Rating: 8/10
Spiritbox is on Instagram, X, and TikTok. Check out more album reviews here and stream the album below or buy from their store.
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