Spiritbox
Spiritbox is a Canadian heavy metal band, originally from Victoria, British Columbia, publicly established by guitarist Mike Stringer and vocalist Courtney LaPlante in October 2017. The band's full lineup comprises married couple LaPlante and Stringer alongside drummer Zev Rose, and bassist Josh Gilbert. The band's style incorporates electronic elements and draws from a variety of influences, crossing multiple metal subgenres with its roots in metalcore and progressive metal. Their music is currently released through their label, Pale Chord, via a partnership with Rise Records.
Spiritbox
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
2016–present
- Pale Chord
- Rise
- Courtney LaPlante
- Mike Stringer
- Zev Rose
- Josh Gilbert
- Ryan Loerke
- Bill Crook
LaPlante and Stringer had been members of Iwrestledabearonce, but were dissatisfied with their roles and founded Spiritbox to express themselves artistically. They released a debut extended play, Spiritbox (2017), followed by a second EP, Singles Collection (2019), with an expanded lineup. Spiritbox initially built their fanbase by focusing on promotion through the Internet and introduced their music through a series of popular music videos, before debuting as a touring band in 2020. They continued to gain popularity with several singles that reached the Billboard charts before releasing their debut album Eternal Blue (2021), which entered the US Billboard 200 at number 13. They released their third EP, Rotoscope, in 2022 and their fourth EP, The Fear of Fear, in 2023.
Musical style and influences[edit]
Spiritbox employs several heavy metal-based musical styles. Max Morin wrote for Metal Injection that attempting to assign the band a single genre label is "pointless".[94] Critics have described their style as metalcore, alternative metal, progressive metal, djent, post-metal, hard rock, deathcore, and nu metal.[note 1] They have also been labelled as "post-metalcore".[104] John D. Buchanan of AllMusic wrote that "[Spiritbox echos] acts like Tesseract, Deftones, and Evanescence, their sound -- incorporating elements of metalcore, nu-metal, prog, shoegaze, and djent -- combines crushing heaviness with atmospheric ethereality, while Courtney LaPlante's versatile voice swoops from gorgeous melodicism to tortured screams and shrieks."[99] Bobby Olivier of Billboard wrote that the band displayed aspects ranging from atmospheric to industrial.[105] Revolver's Eli Enis described the band's musical style as an arrangement of "alt-metal with elegant vocals and thunderous djent grooves".[101] In a 2019 interview, LaPlante said the band's music was constructed out of a progressive metal foundation before being condensed for the final version of the songs.[106] However, she more closely identified Spiritbox as a metalcore group near the release of Eternal Blue,[10] though she also said that "[her] main goal with this band is fluidity".[3]
The band integrates electronic elements within their sound as distinctive characteristics, as part of a musical genre evolving through the artistic use of new technologies. Guitar World wrote that Spiritbox "successfully mastered the art of digitally infused metal" while "maintaining a sonic stamp that's completely their own".[107] The digital synthesizer appears as a particular sonic aspect of much of the band's music.[108][109] Spiritbox combined electronic styles after deriving inspiration from the 1980s pop music scene, Nine Inch Nails, and early post-punk bands such as the Cure.[105] The band has acknowledged that the impact of 1980s dark rock and pop bands, embodied by uncluttered musical compositions through synthesizer minimalism in "airy" song structures, inspired Spiritbox's style.[105]
LaPlante and Stringer have credited Alexisonfire and Protest the Hero as early musical influences which carried over into their work with Spiritbox.[1] The band referred to Depeche Mode and Tears for Fears as particularly significant influences.[105] Stringer's guitar playing style includes a "Gojira-esque pick scrape technique".[107] LaPlante has cited Tesseract,[3] Deftones,[110] Kate Bush,[110] and Amy Lee as influences;[111] and mentioned that Meshuggah was her "standard bearer" in heavy metal.[112] She has also expressed admiration for Gojira,[5] Björk,[112] Beyoncé,[112] and FKA Twigs.[10]
LaPlante's first experience with the death growl came from listening to Cannibal Corpse at the age of five, which developed into a marked interest in harsh vocals during her early adolescence while listening to nu metal. At the age of eighteen, LaPlante laid down her screamed vocals for the first time on a breakdown of a song written by her brother.[113] She said that it is necessary to push the boundaries of the metalcore genre by being inclusive and progressive, to stay relevant.[10] Her vocal phrasing, based on her musical expression, is influenced by contemporary R&B artists such as Doja Cat, H.E.R., SZA, and the Weeknd.[105] LaPlante's singing has received acclaim from music critics. Morin called her "one of the best vocalists in the modern metal scene".[94] Sam Coare of Kerrang! highlights her vocal performance saying that "Few frontpeople handle the transition from cleans to screams with the skill, depth and ferocity of Courtney LaPlante".[2]
Studio albums