SPIRITBOX -Photo Credit: Lindsey Byrnes
Well, thankfully from the opening track, ‘Sun Killer‘, Spiritbox immediately quash any concerns of bloated hype, as the album figuratively glides into the ether, with such force and confidence, that you’ll be reaching for the repeat button in no time, and we’ve not even had the pleasure of track two.
In fact, so good is the opening sequence of tracks on ‘Eternal Blue‘, anyone that’s been following the bands’ meteoric rise over the past two/three years will find themselves beaming with satisfaction at the sheer quality of songs like ‘Hurt You‘, and the tremendous ‘Yellojacket‘, featuring nonother than Architects frontman, Sam Carter.
Courtney’s [vocals] performance on every track is nothing short of outstanding, as she effortlessly switches from the most honey-toned melodic/breathless tones to a demonic, guttural register that provides the most magnetic sonic foreground to a backdrop of huge, progressive/Djent, technical metal. Let us draw your attention to the punishing, ‘Silk in the Strings‘ which is simply a ferocious display of Spirtibox in full beast-mode, and is a perfect entrée to the skyscraper single, ‘Holy Roller‘ which follows.
Each offering from ‘Eternal Blue‘ is crafted with such detail from the deep, warm production to the songs themselves. Just let yourself drift away with the title track and the landscape of the album will begin to flourish and present itself to you. Delicate aural twists and turns through light and shade can be found throughout, making this compelling listening indeed.
The final quarter of the LP sees the anthemic ‘We Live in a Strange World‘ unfold in all its glory clocking in at just under three minutes, keeping in line with [what I can only assume is a conscious effort to ‘trim the fat‘] with the other tracks, all of which average around the three-minute mark, apart from ‘Constance‘, which is over four minutes [the longest track on the album].
Finishing off with ‘Halcyon‘, ‘Circle with Me‘ and ‘Constnace‘, Spirtbox presents a debut that not only exceeds expectations but showcases the bands’ incredible attention to detail which is painfully obvious when digesting the overall body of work that is ‘Eternal Blue‘.
Whatever the future holds for Spiritbox, one thing’s for sure, it’s gonna be huge. As good as ‘Eternal Blue‘ is, I can’t help but feel that they have only just scratched the surface of their potential. 8.5/10
‘Eternal Blue‘ will be available from September 17th. Order your copy with your local record store or online here.
Oran O’Beirne
www.overdrive.ie 2021