Tsunami Sea - Spiritbox
It seems like everyone in the Metalcore community that loved the massive success of Spiritbox’s breakout 2021 hit album, Eternal Blue, has been holding their breath with anticipation to see if the next full-length album could be lightning in a bottle like the first record (myself included!). I can say now with no doubt in my mind that Tsunami Sea is the rare exception to the Sophomore Slump rule/expectation and is a perfect companion album to Eternal Blue. I don’t make that claim lightly, as Eternal Blue is one of my favorite albums of this past decade. Tsunami Sea could be a strong contender to gain entry on this list after several more listens and time to marinate on it. This album feels darker and more pained than Eternal Blue despite Tsunami Sea containing more melody than the former, but don’t be fooled by Courtney’s clean vocals!
Tsunami Sea sees the band continuing to push the Metalcore genre to its limits, causing you to question just what modern Metalcore really is. This album is what happens when you toss Metalcore, Djent, Prog Metal, Alt Metal, Pop and Drum & Bass into a blender and run it on “High”. Two songs that come to mind that feel drastically different here are “Black Rainbow” and “Crystal Roses”, both experimenting with more electronic sounds than the band typically flirts with. Lead vocalist Courtney LaPlante also takes the time to develop her vocal craft on this record, experimenting more than ever before. Courtney’s vocals are a perfect balance of sweet and sinner, with her cleans being sung earnestly and passionately, drawing you in like a bee to nectar. The screams then come along and blast you out of your seat like a high-powered wind turbine. Some clean vocal moments remind me of Poppy’s off of her Negative Spaces record from 2024 (but you won’t find me confusing these two powerhouses on the Grammy’s Red Carpet…). Courtney’s screamed vocals are the best they have ever sounded here, tapping into a raw sound that feels like it could grate the skin from your bone.
The album isn’t perfect, with the production sometimes feeling a little sanitized and overproduced. This has been a trend with many Metal and Metalcore recordings the past 5+ years that I’m sad to see. I come from an era where bands would just hit record on whatever shitty equipment they had, leading to a more natural, raw, live sound that I loved. To be fair though, I’m the same guy who loved listening to Punk and Hardcore bands that could barely play their instruments and had singers who sounded like wounded cats howling, so maybe I’m the crazy guy in the room on this one.
Tsunami Sea is another album where I struggle to pick my favorites since every track is damn near a masterpiece. Despite that feeling, I’ll highlight some tracks that stood out for me! “Black Rainbow” moves at a quick pace and experiments with electronic vocal effects (something different for the band, but not an unwelcome surprise) and the guitar riff is also fun! “Keep Sweet” is a mostly softer song that reminds me of the softer songs Poppy had on Negative Spaces. The song allows Courtney to showcase her clean vocals before keeping us on our toes with calculated screams. The guitar riffs float between simple “Pop” riffs to soaring high notes that are begging to break into a solo. “Soft Spine” was the lead single for the record and it absolutely brings the house down. This is going to be a massive hit in the mosh pit this Summer! “Soft Spine” is easily my favorite track on the record. The guitar riff feels like controlled chaos - it’s calculated in some sections and sporadic the next. The chaotic guitar riffs remind me of iwrestledabearonce, ironically enough. This is a song that if the vocals were removed from it, I could see it being on a Doom video game soundtrack (shoutout to Mick Gordon). The song is brutal and swings like a baseball bat at your head. Mike Stringer is quoted as saying this is a “hater song”, attributing that to Courtney’s general attitude toward people, and it’s a perfect way to sum up this track. Finally, we come to “Ride The Wave”. “Ride The Wave” feels like a buildup for about 3 minutes until it blasts into a crusher breakdown. The majority of the song features my favorite clean vocals from Courtney. As the song builds and gets to that breakdown though, she lets the walls down and goes all-out in a moment I’ll remember for a long time. During the buildup, the song has a sexy groove to it that reminds me of something out of a John Wick soundtrack or a Marilyn Manson track off of the Pale Emperor (think “Third Day of a Seven Day Binge” or “Killing Strangers”, which ironically enough was on the first John Wick soundtrack). It’s a song that oozes passion and pain through all aspects of the song.
Spiritbox is poised to take over the Metal world, especially after this release. Eternal Blue was a breath of fresh air in the community and caused many people to perk their ears up, but Tsunami Sea doubles down on what worked and demands your attention. I believe that if they are able to recreate the magic with their inevitable third album, Spiritbox will not only become one of the biggest mainstream Metal acts in the modern era but will go down as one of the best in the genre and earn a seat at the table amongst the greats of Metalcore.