SPIRITBOX’s COURTNEY LAPLANTE: GOJIRA’s Performance At Olympic Games Was ‘The Biggest Mainstream Moment In The History Of Metal’

In a new interview with Audacy Music, SPIRITBOX frontwoman Courtney LaPlante spoke about the fact that her band lost out to GOJIRA in the “Best Metal Performance” category at the 67th annual Grammy Awards, which was held on February 2 at the Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center) in Los Angeles, California. GOJIRA was nominated for “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça Ira!)” — a version of the French Revolution-era standard “Ah! Ça Ira!” — which the band performed at last year’s Olympic Games opening ceremony. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “In my opinion, [GOJIRA’s performance at the Olympic Games] was the biggest mainstream moment in the history of metal. Most metal bands don’t hit mainstream in any capacity like that until they make more mainstream music. And I don’t mean ‘mainstream’ in a bad way. I just mean more accessible to lots of people. But GOJIRA, that’s why it was so shocking to me, and I think to the world, who’s kind of scared of that performance, is that they didn’t do anything — I don’t think they compromised anything. I think it might be the most metal thing to ever happen on TV — ever, ever — ’cause a billion people watched it.”Regarding the fact that GOJIRA won over SPIRITBOX, Courtney said: “It was funny ’cause [the guys in GOJIRA] are very humble people and they are really nice and really supportive of us. And so we were all in the lineup to go do the Getty Images together… And we were, like, ‘Guys, you opened the Olympics. You’re winning.’ … I really think they thought they weren’t gonna win because they sat so far in the back, they almost didn’t get to do their speech. I’m, like, ‘Guys, at least come to the 10th row.’ … So I’m really happy for them.”Of course, I’d love to win a Grammy,” Courtney clarified. “That sounds awesome. But when there’s only one metal award, all the other people in there are awesome, and I don’t think anyone is sad to lose to those other people, because there’s only five bands that get to be picked to be nominated for that every year. That’s the only award for metal.”SPIRITBOX’s sophomore album, “Tsunami Sea”, came out on March 7 via Pale Chord / Rise Records.SPIRITBOX kicked off its sold-out European tour on February 13 at London’s iconic Alexandra Palace, marking the band’s largest headline show to date, with 10,000 tickets sold. From there, they continued across Europe before launching into the “Tsunami Sea” North American tour, beginning April 3 in Dallas, Texas. The 24-date trek — produced by Live Nation — brings LOATHE, DYING WISH and GEL along for the ride, tearing through cities across the U.S. and Canada. This summer, SPIRITBOX will step onto even bigger stages, joining LINKIN PARK for select stadium dates in Italy, the Netherlands, and the U.K.Formed in 2017 in the picturesque yet isolated region of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada by vocalist Courtney LaPlante and guitarist Mike Stringer, SPIRITBOX would fully cement themselves as a household name in the summer of 2020 with the release of their blistering breakout single “Holy Roller”, along with a host of other captivating singles shortly after, resulting in a media firestorm of hype.With new and existing fans eagerly watching their next move, SPIRITBOX exceeded every expectation imaginable in 2021 with the release of their genre-defining debut studio album “Eternal Blue” via Pale Chord/Rise Records. “Eternal Blue”, which debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, kicked open the doors of the heavy metal scene and rewrote the genre’s playbook with 12 stunning tracks that incorporated everything from djent and post-metal to infectious synth-laden pop sensibilities and cinematic arrangements, brought fully to life by the inimitable LaPlante’s ethereal and commanding vocal performances.The album cycle for “Eternal Blue” saw SPIRITBOX not only grace the covers of esteemed music publications such as Revolver, Alternative Press, Rock Sound and Kerrang!, among many others but would also solidify the band as one of the most in-demand groups in live music today with their one-hundred percent sold out, first-ever headlining tour in support of the album which saw ticket sales over 40,000. The band would also share the stage with seasoned metal veterans such as LIMP BIZKIT and GHOST and win “Best International Breakthrough Band” at the 2021 Heavy Music Awards.In 2022, SPIRITBOX secured highly coveted spots at numerous major U.S. rock and metal festivals and were nominated for two Juno awards. SPIRITBOX would also round out their current lineup with the inclusion of drummer Zev Rose and bassist Josh Gilbert in addition to releasing their sonically experimental EP “Rotoscope” in June of that year as well as a cross-genre collaboration with dubstep artist Illenium for the track “Shivering”.During another whirlwind year for the band, including a U.S. tour with SHINEDOWN and PAPA ROACH, SPIRITBOX wrote and recorded their critically acclaimed EP “The Fear Of Fear”, released in November 2023. The EP features the single “Jaded”, which was nominated for “Best Metal Performance” at the 66th annual Grammy Awards. In the same month, the band would make another genre-bending splash with a high-profile collaboration with rapper Megan Thee Stallion for a remix of her song “Cobra”.[embedded content]