ALBUM REVIEW: Tsunami Sea – Spiritbox

You don’t need us to tell you that SPIRITBOX are superstars. The Grammy-nominated, MEGAN THEE STALLION-collaborating, accidentally POPPY-impersonating metalcore outfit have smashed every expectation of them in record time since Holy Roller launched them into the global spotlight. That means people expect a lot of them, particularly after the mammoth Eternal Blue, a debut album that took them to arenas like London’s 10,500 capacity Alexandra Palace. They experimented on 2022’s Rotoscope with grungier elements and the sassy Sew Me Up, while 2023’s The Fear Of Fear refined their atmospheric metalcore further.

Enter Tsunami Sea; their second album, and one that obliterates the bar set for it with ease. While the initial singles Soft Spine and Perfect Soul showcased both ends of SPIRITBOX’s sound from rampaging heft to serene melody, third single No Loss, No Love hinted at a more experimental slant for the Vancouver Islanders, and the rest of the album goes further still. Opener Fata Morgana churns and heaves like the waves the album hints at, a veritable whirlpool of thundering guitar and acerbic screams. There’s pockets of calm, too, like its chorus where Courtney LaPlante shows her knack for a softer, more ambient style. 

Black Rainbow follows in a similar vein, calling back to their earlier Spiritbox EP with its djent riffs, but the electronics are amplified here, and the use of distorted vocal lines in the background are newer. Across Tsunami Sea, the band strike a balance between this experimentalism and more straightforward songwriting, with Perfect Soul flowing into the Keep Sweet, both of which are melodic SPIRITBOX as we know them, before Soft Spine upends things with its vitriolic heft. There’s an easy flow that ensures that despite the abrupt change in dynamics, it still feels cohesive. 

The biggest improvement to Tsunami Sea is the band’s well-earned confidence in exploring the different aspects of their sound. Where Eternal Blue felt like the band had streamlined themselves, Tsunami Sea embraces the experimentalism they showed on Rotoscope and The Fear of Fear, as well as pre-debut. It’s a far more exciting, well-rounded album for it. The title track and the following A Haven With Two Faces are serene, almost ballads that ebb and flow like the tides, offering some solace before the final stretch.

And what a final stretch it is; as good as Tsunami Sea has been until now, it somehow gets even better on the final stretch. No Loss, No Love shifts between glitchy electronics, spoken word and heaving metal, while Crystal Roses almost flees metal entirely, propelled by a stunning liquid drum & bass beat and gorgeous melodies. Ride the Wave builds on a pulsing beat, before blossoming into a towering, arena-ready anthem for its chorus, one that hits harder each time it repeats, particularly after its thunderous breakdown. 

Eternal Blue was a good, polished modern metalcore album that, while not the most adventurous, set SPIRITBOX apart by virtue of them doing it better than their peers. With the difficult second album, they’ve improved on it in every way. Just as polished, but re-embracing the djent and prog elements that made them so exciting in the first place, as well as bringing in more electronic influence. Now, SPIRITBOX are heavier and weirder than before – and Tsunami Sea is all the better for it, setting a new bar for both themselves and modern metalcore.

Rating: 9/10

Tsunami Sea is set for release March 7th via Rise Records.

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