Eternal Blue is the debut studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Spiritbox. It was released on September 17, 2021, through the band's own Pale Chord Records in partnership with Rise Records. Produced by Dan Braunstein, work began on the album in October 2020 in Joshua Tree, California, and was finished by February 2021. The album proved an immediate chart success for the band, recording entries in seven countries. In advance of the record's release, five songs became singles: "Holy Roller", "Constance", "Circle With Me", "Secret Garden", and "Hurt You".
Background
Before co-founding Spiritbox, singer Courtney LaPlante and guitarist Mike Stringer were both in Iwrestledabearonce.[1][2] In late 2015, they decided to quit the band.[2] LaPlante and Stringer had each replaced a previous member of Iwrestledabearonce, and were never comfortable with that status in the band; the two also desired to pursue a new personal and creative direction.[3] On October 9, 2017, the duo announced the launch of their new project named Spiritbox.[4]
As Spiritbox, the couple released a seven-song self-titled debut extended play on October 27, 2017, preceded by the single "The Beauty of Suffering".[5] Former Iwrestledabearonce bandmate Mikey Montgomery served as the band's first drummer to record the EP.[6][7] The band was later joined by Bill Crook of the pop-punk band Living with Lions as bassist,[8] and Shreddy Krueger drummer Ryan Loerke became the band's first permanent drummer.[9] The band shared five singles which were eventually compiled into an EP titled Singles Collection on April 26, 2019,[10][11] followed by the non-album singles "Rule of Nines" and "Blessed Be" in 2019 and 2020. Loerke would depart from Spiritbox in 2020,[9] and was subsequently replaced by Philadelphia-based drummer Zev Rose. The band members met Rose only two days before the band began touring with him.[1][12]
Composition
Spiritbox employed several heavy metal-based musical styles on Eternal Blue. Critics have identified the style on the album as metalcore,[13][14]post-metal,[14] and djent.[15] The record was also labelled "post-metalcore".[16] Near the release of the record, LaPlante herself defined the musical genre of Spiritbox as metalcore.[15] The band's use of the digital synthesizer provided a unique sonic aspect to the album,[17][18] and LaPlante makes use of both screaming and singing throughout the record.[14][19]
Recording and release
Spiritbox first found critical and commercial success with the release of the single "Holy Roller" in July 2020. It debuted at No. 25 on BillboardHot Hard Rock Songs.[8][20] The song's original version spent seven weeks as No. 1 on Sirius XMLiquid Metal's Devil's Dozen,[8] and was deemed the best song of 2020 by the station's listeners.[1][15] In September 2020, Spiritbox announced that they had signed with Rise Records, as part of the label's partnership with Pale Chord Records.[8][21] The band subsequently released a remix of "Holy Roller" in October, which featured Ryo Kinoshita of Crystal Lake.[22] The "Holy Roller" remix version spent five weeks as No. 2 on Sirius XM Liquid Metal's Devil's Dozen.[8][20]
The songwriting for the band's debut album was disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic; eventually, the band reconvened in Joshua Tree, California, to continue working in "their own bubble" over a five-month period.[1][15] The band set a deadline of April 2021 to finish work on the album so it could be released by the end of 2021.[15] In December 2020, Spiritbox debuted "Constance";[23] that same month, a Kerrang! reader's poll voted Spiritbox as "Best New Band".[24]
^ ab"Spiritbox: Tout Savoir sur le Groupe" [Spiritbox: Know Everything About the Group | 2016−present]. Hard Force Magazine (in French). Paris. n.d. OCLC32640105. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
^The following critics called Eternal Blue post-metalcore:
Leivers, Dannii (September 14, 2021). "Spiritbox's Eternal Blue..."Metal Hammer. Archived from the original on September 19, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2021.