Review: Spiritbox - Tsunami Sea

Review: Spiritbox – Tsunami Sea

"For all the hype and acclaim Spiritbox has received in recent years, it's undoubtedly justified on 'Tsunami Sea'."

When Spiritbox released their debut album, ‘Eternal Blue’ in 2021, it was considerably one of metal’s most hyped up releases of the year. It saw the Canadian outfit receive widespread praise. Sure, it saw them push genre boundaries, firmly placing them amongst modern metal’s elite. However, besides a smattering of songs, I never felt ‘Eternal Blue’ was the outstanding 5-star feat many made it out to be. Since then, they’ve delivered two EPs; the industrious ‘Rotoscope’ and November 2023’s ‘The Fear Of Fear’. The latter proving to be a coherent, heavy reminder of Spiritbox‘s strengths.

Their second album, ‘Tsunami Sea’, arrives with the same level of expectation as its predecessor. However, you’d be pleased to hear this time out they match them and then some. From the outset, ‘Fata Morgana’ savage guitars and Courtney LaPlante’s bloodthirsty vocals demonstrate a band ready to go all out. On the surface everything sounds bigger without ever sacrificing a metallic bite.

One characteristic that Spiritbox have consistently pulled off is their ability to add density. For example, ‘Black Rainbow’ mechanically is a rampant rager with electronic texture clashing hefty, industrial guitars. At the core of their abrasive sound is Courtney LaPlante’s commanding and versatile voice. She has repeatedly shown she can be scathing one minute (see ‘Soft Spine’), the next delivering towering melodies. ‘Keep Sweet’ is one of several moments where she does both. Razor-sharp instrumentation and distorted vocal blasts organically give way to a melodic metalcore chorus. Later on, ‘A Haven With Two Faces’ considerably does this to perfection. Ebbing and flowing with precision, it epitomises Spiritbox‘s strengths; melodically strong, musically dense, and executed with emotion.

Undoubtedly, having toured all over the place, their confidence and willingness to experiment flourishes. While on ‘Eternal Blue’ it was done with a hint of trepidation, on here it’s executed with conviction. Whether that be with hypnotic drum & bass on ‘Crystal Roses,’ or ‘No Loss No Love’s pulsating electronic flourishes. Whereas its title track glistens with floating keys and LaPlante’s serene vocals rising above chugging, choppy guitars.

‘Tsunami Sea’s final stretch of tracks, including ‘Crystal Roses,’ and ‘No Loss No Love’, sees Spiritbox at their strongest. ‘Ride The Wave’ towers with a soaring, thunderous chorus. Once again, the use of atmosphere pays off, delivering a gigantic breakdown. It comes to a head with ‘Deep End’. Emotionally resonate, it leans into watery metaphors that thread ‘Tsunami Sea’ together. While for the most part the album’s lyrical themes see a band under pressure, and weighed down, on ‘Deep End’ they resolutely seem optimistic.

For all the hype and acclaim Spiritbox has received in recent years, it’s undoubtedly justified on ‘Tsunami Sea’. Its pacing and structure are on point, without any filler on offer. Their ability to stir together metalcore, tech, prog, and electronic has been refined, allowing producer Dan Braunstein and guitarist Mike Stringer to provide a satisfying sonic (and layered) pallette. Paired with a lyrically emotional weight, there is very little to find fault with ‘Tsunami Sea’, if anything.