Tsunami Sea

01. Fata Morgana02. Black Rainbow03. Perfect Soul04. Keep Sweet05. Soft Spine06. Tsunami Sea07. A Haven With Two Faces08. No Loss, No Love09. Crystal Roses10. Ride The Wave11. Deep EndOnce in a while, a band comes along that totally takes over the space in their genre. One of those bands is SPIRITBOX. The Canadian heavy metal band hails from Victoria, British Columbia, and got their start in 2017, breaking out with their 2021 debut album, “Eternal Blue”.When “Eternal Blue” arrived, off the band’s own Pale Chord label in partnership with Rise Records, it demanded attention. Songs such as “Circle with Me” and “Secret Garden” combined the heaviness of heavy metal and djenty-laced, progressive rock with tuneful melodies to create something that everyone from metalheads to pop fans could appreciate. Since then, vocalist Courtney LaPlante and SPIRITBOX have scored a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance for their single “Cellar Door”, and “Eternal Blue” reached No. 13 on the Billboard 200. Uncommon attention for a new metal band.Now, SPIRITBOX have returned with their sophomore release, “Tsunami Sea”, and it sounds a lot like their debut. Considering that SPIRITBOX gained so much notoriety for “Eternal Blue”, it makes sense that they would repeat that sound and style on “Tsunami Sea”, but it’s always nicer if a band switches things up. Even with that in mind, SPIRITBOX deliver a grand, complete set, with raging guitars, pounding rhythms and LaPlante’s trademark screaming coupled with melodic singing.If “Eternal Blue” takes a path anywhere unexpected compared to the band’s debut, one could say it goes even further into a straight-ahead metalcore and alt-metal sound by fusing heavy metal with punk and other genres. Lead single “Soft Spine” is anything but soft, as this rager unfolds to deliver crushing riffing and some of LaPlante’s most vicious screaming to date.Another early single, “Perfect Soul”, is something for those who prefer a softer SPIRITBOX, as LaPlante sings with her signature deep tone over steady, pummeling drums, sharp guitars and a trippy, atmospheric breakdown. Here, LaPlante sounds yearning as she sings about shining “a light into a thousand eyes.” If there’s a mainstream rock hit among “Tsunami Sea”, it’s “Perfect Soul”.As the album progresses, this theme of blood-curdling heavy metal anthems alongside melodic metal continues. “No Loss, No Love” is one of the heaviest songs on the record, featuring LaPlante in full throttle screaming mode. “Crystal Roses” is on the opposite end of the spectrum, bringing an electronic pop song with LaPlante’s singing voice covered in pop effects.SPIRITBOX don’t take many chances on “Tsunami Sea”, but that makes sense considering that the sound and style they’ve honed is so popular right now. It will be interesting to see what this band does next, whether it’s repeating the same or trying something fresh and new.[embedded content]