“Sun killer, sing me to sleep.“
It’s hard to imagine a world where Spiritbox aren’t on top at this point. It feels as if much of the discourse surrounding heavy music for as long as I can remember has been centered around them. This is no slight toward that, however. The accolades and praise the Canadian group have garnered over the last year or so has been a long time coming, and more than deserved. Forming in 2017 from the ashes of divisive mathcore legends iwrestledabearonce, it’s crazy to think just how long they’ve been around, given this album here, Eternal Blue, is their debut full-length.
This is through no fault of their own, however. As is the case with many other groups, initial plans for the record were hampered by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and my sympathies have been with them throughout that. Time clearly hasn’t been on their side, however, and well over a year after the album’s initial single’s release in July 2020, we’ve arrived here in September 2021 with Eternal Blue. An album that, despite the vastly limited releases under the group’s belt, has a lot riding on it.
Given the group’s sudden rise to popularity following the release of 2020 smash hit “Holy Roller”, I can only imagine the amount of pressure they’ve felt from the music world at large. Having released two EPs and a number of singles up to that point, it felt that with that single in particular the world’s eyes shifted toward Spiritbox in unison. So, with a lofty set of expectations on its back, how does Eternal Blue stack up?
Opener “Sun Killer” sets the mood with a slick, sublime and chunky affair. Lowkey chugging guitars and bass ride over the top of this reserved, melodic opener, before the song escalates into a soaring chorus and a face-melting breakdown. Opening with their best foot forward, “Sun Killer” is one of the most gorgeous songs I’ve heard all year, made all the more effective by a contrastingly brutal ending that leaves the song feeling as dynamic as it is beautiful. The build-up to that breakdown is a standout moment across the entire album, too, with vocalist Courtney LaPlante slowly building up the tension through repeating “sun killer, sing me to sleep”.
The first three tracks on Eternal Blue flow wonderfully. A true one-two-three flurry of tracks, with “Hurt You” standing out in bringing a slick nu-metal edge to the group’s djent-laden metalcore sound. Further, third track “Yellowjacket”, featuring Architects’ Sam Carter is an absolute treat. Chugging eight-string guitars and disgusting vocals aplenty; “Yellowjacket” is sure to be an absolute fan favourite. Sam Carter particularly stands out on this track, using his full range to an impressive degree, laying down his signature pitched screams, as well as a particularly gnarly low growl in the track’s breakdown. LaPlante’s vocal performance here shouldn’t be discounted either. Outside of “Holy Roller”, this is by far the most heavy I’ve ever heard Spiritbox, and her vocal interplay with Carter is truly something to behold.
The album mellows out a tad after the unrelenting fury of the two preceding tracks. “The Summit” and “Secret Garden” are both truly serene. “Secret Garden” stood out to me among the album’s singles, with its ridiculously technical yet absolutely gorgeous guitar work from group mastermind Mike Stringer.
Following track “Silk In The Strings” follows suit with the album’s introductory tracks in being a brutally heavy endeavor. However, despite the strength of this track in particular, a glaring issue with the album starts to rear its head around this point – the structure. While many of the tracks found on Eternal Blue and stellar in isolation, the album, particularly in its second half, ends up feeling like less than a sum of its parts due to some strange pacing. The back half of the record jumps frequently and seemingly randomly between brutally heavy and remarkably soft tracks with almost no consideration of flow.
The placement of the album’s penultimate track, single “Circle With Me”, stands out to me as a particular issue. I am admittedly a tad biased, and this may be my least favourite Spiritbox song to date, but I feel the climactic placement of this track leads to anything but a sense of climax. Closer “Constance” is an apt, and frankly heart wrenching closer, however I can’t help but feel like it leaves the record feeling all the more anticlimactic given this track was released as a single six months before the album’s announcement.
Further, inclusion of initial single “Holy Roller”, as much of a rager as the track may be, made me roll my eyes upon the album’s announcement. Especially given how good the two singles preceding it (“Rule of Nines” and “Blessed Be”) were, I find it quite disappointing that this track made the cut and the other two were left on the cutting room floor. Of course, I understand, this track propelled them to stardom like no other track before it, but I can’t help but feel a little deflated by it.
Despite this, like I said, many of these songs are absolutely stellar in isolation. Title track “Eternal Blue” contains an absolute enthralling lead riff, bouncing around to compliment LaPlante’s gorgeous clean vocals throughout the track’s verses. Tenth track “Halcyon” is a standout, too, with its absolutely harrowing fake-out breakdown, engaging in a level of dissonance that will stick with me for some time to be sure. Further, oddball track “We Live In A Strange World” feels like a prog-metal adaptation on the lowkey electronics of a Billie Eilish record, with some incredibly interesting percussion and production choices.
In spite of the issues I have with its structure and release, I can’t deny that Eternal Blue is largely a fantastic record. A collection of some of the best tracks this group have penned, mired quite significantly by a lack of flow in its second half leaves Eternal Blue feeling like a record that, while genuinely great, could’ve been so much more. There’s no doubt in my mind that Spiritbox will continue to grow and become one of the most popular groups in the world with this record, but there are a few too many key issues with the album as a whole for me to ignore. Make no mistake, though, almost every single track here is worth your time, and this is a record you should absolutely give the time of day to (if you somehow haven’t already).
Eternal Blue is available now via Rise Records, and you can purchase or stream the record here.
8.5/10