As arguably one of the most highly anticipated albums this year has finally arrived, the pressure is on to see if Spiritbox's "Eternal Blue" was worth the wait. The 43 minute record bounces back and forth between beautiful vocal melodies and aggressive screaming parts over metalcore structured instrumentals as vocalist Courtney LaPlante works her magic that the band is most known for.
As we dive deeper, the record starts off with a slower build up in "Sun Killer" to get the audience ready for what's to come. The growing whispers that lead into the breakdown give instant goosebumps, and the transition going into "Hurt You" is flawless; the eerie sound leading into the horror vibe is one detail that caught my attention. "Hurt You", which was one of the 5 songs already released, is definitely a crowd pleaser, with its familiar structure and the bouncy drums and guitar riffs make for anyone to jump up and down to the beat. Another thing that caught my attention is how guitarist Mike Stringer's tones are recognizable as his own. When you hear a Spiritbox song without knowing it's them, you can already tell by hearing his guitar tones, and that's something special to already have going into the first album released as a band. "Yellowjacket" brings in Architects vocalist Sam Carter and it is the perfect blend of vocal performances, both during back and forth verses and combined choruses. Starting out with another flawless transition into a dystopian-electronic atmosphere, LaPlante's vocals cut through the production and Carter tags along to add another level of intensity and energy.
Things take a calmer route with "The Summit" and "Secret Garden" as these highlight LaPlante's soothing vocals on top of the unique bass and guitar lines. These seem like they would be good contenders for crowd participation at live shows, especially with the outro of "Secret Garden" where the crowd can scream the lyrics "nobody waits for me" back to the band for an emotional moment. "Silk In The Strings" and "Holy Roller" bring the heaviness back up as the continued synchronized guitar and drum parts slam into the refreshingly different song structures. Breathing room in the breakdowns make for chilling performances, both lyrically and instrumentally.
The title track "Eternal Blue" has a nostalgic vibe with the open atmosphere that feels like it's spiraling further and further down as the song goes. Drum grooves keep things upbeat though with the syncopated hi-hat hits in the verse and the double bass to match the low guitars. That feeling transfers into the unexpected "We Live In A Strange World", which has a more polished pop-like sound, on top of their standard metalcore grooves, but not in any bad way at all. It's a breath of fresh air as the diversity shines through in this track. Another seamless transition flows the audience straight into "Halcyon", another track showcasing both abilities from LaPlante while the instrumentals take on challenging hits and rhythms, which makes it one of my personal favorites. "Circle With Me" is another song that was already released, and it may have a familiar song structure, but it's catchy chorus and vocal melodies never get old. We conclude the album with "Constance", which I was skeptical about since it was also another song that's been released for quite some time. After hearing the full body of work together, it feels like it's in the right place to slow the audience down and get them in their feels. The lyrical content along with build up towards the end that steadily slows down more, but also grows in intensity, is an incredible performance that'll leave you with goosebumps.
With "Eternal Blue" as a whole, Spiritbox made a name for themselves on their debut album and will blow up in the music industry even more. Every song had a solid delivery and execution, both lyrically and musically, and this is only the beginning for them. Ready or not, the world will be hearing this name thrown out more and more, and it's spectacular to be seeing the early success in real time.
Link to Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6cZ39G1mahxDAGfoPzDllb?si=pKv-2z9YSHSgwNUADatjpQ&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1
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