Album Review
Spiritbox – ‘Eternal Blue’ [Album Review]
Does one of the most anticipated releases of 2021 live up to the hype? Read our review of ‘Eternal Blue’ here and see what we thought.
Canadian metal outfit Spiritbox is about to drop one of the most anticipated albums of 2021 in Eternal Blue with huge things being expected of the band in 2022. So, has the hype been worth it? Well, the selection of multi-million stream singles that have preceded the release of this record is a bit of an indicator that this album is going to be gargantuan and, unsurprisingly, Spiritbox doesn’t disappoint.
Opener “Sun Killer” kicks off this album and, as a statement, it fully demonstrates the strengths of this band. Obviously, the first of those big strengths is vocalist Courtney LaPlante’s voice. Already something of a vocal powerhouse in the modern metal scene, LaPlante’s performance throughout Eternal Blue is mesmerizing as she switches effortlessly between those haunting, ethereal cleans on the likes of “Sun Killer” to a face-melting harsher style on recent single “Holy Roller.” LaPlante is joined by Architects frontman Sam Carter for “Yellowjacket” with this perfect duet being matched by their other big strength and that is the ability of the group to write unforgettable songs.
Mixing synths with dreamy melodies with bouncy, almost nu-metal grooves with harder, grittier splashes of modern metal, Spiritbox has crafted an album full of tracks like “Silk In The Strings” where the sound ebbs and flows from heavier moments to calmer sections without a second thought. What this ability to switch up the moods means is that Eternal Blue takes you on a real rollercoaster of a journey; one minute you’re being thrown about by the jarring, clinical metal of tracks like “Hurt You” before being dropped into the title track where the mood becomes a lot calmer and soothing.
Alongside the precision of the heaviness, it’s tracks like the title track and the subsequent “We Live In A Strange World” where Spiritbox, and LaPlante in particular, show the more serene, emotional side to their personality. With the rest of the band able to craft a sound that matches her emotion, it makes Eternal Blue the kind of album that you can really lose yourself within the hypnotic sound of the music. However, as LaPlante unleashes the kind of hellish roar she does at the end of “Halcyon,” you’re quickly jolted back into the realization that the many beautiful moments are matched on this record by equally darker, more brutal ones.
Eternal Blue ends with the stunning “Constance,” a track where Spiritbox will push you to your emotional breaking point. Inspired by LaPlante’s grandmother and her fight with dementia, “Constance” will wring every last emotion out of you as it brings this stunning album to a heartwrenching, unforgettable close.
Eternal Blue Track Listing:
1. Sun Killer
2. Hurt You
3. Yellowjacket ft. Sam Carter
4. The Summit
5. Secret Garden
6. Silk In The Strings
7. Holy Roller
8. Eternal Blue
9. We Live In A Strange World
10. Halcyon
11. Circle With Me
12. Constance
Run Time: 43:07
Release Date: September 17, 2021
Record Label: Rise Records
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