The Perfect Storm With COURTNEY LaPLANTE From SPIRITBOX

Interview by Kris Peters
Driven by a desire to rise beyond their surroundings in the picturesque yet isolated region of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, vocalist Courtney Laplante and guitarist Mike Stringer combined to form Spiritbox in 2017.
Little did they know their musical trajectory from there would be swift and monumental, cementing 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.
The following year Spiritbox released their debut album Eternal Blue, kicking open the doors of the heavy metal scene and rewriting 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.
After furthering their sonic expansion over two more EPs Spiritbox have now unleashed their sophomore album, the mesmerizing and ferociously beautiful Tsunami Sea, once more pushing the boundaries of acceptance in a genre that is often restricting by nature. It is an album of contrasting styles and emotions, majestically entwined with the DNA from which Spiritbox have built their empire.
There is a storm coming indeed, and that storm is called Tsunami Sea.
HEAVY spoke with Laplante to discuss things in more detail.
"A lot of work went into it with the planning," she mused. "When we do a full-length album it's usually - if you do it more traditionally like how we are doing this one - a whole dramatic, climactic roll out. You start promoting it. You want to give it a fair shot. So you start promoting it early, and it's just this huge big climactic thing. Like you said, it's like D Day."
We ask Courtney to dive into the musical side of Tsunami Sea and what the band were going for with it.
"I don't normally say this until after the album comes out, but all of our work… everything. Everything we've ever made, any body of work is actually a concept album but we don't market it as a concept album," she revealed."This one is no different. Each body of work has its own little story and the story of this one is… it's just representing, lyrically, myself, and then instrumentally Michael expressing the push and pull that we feel being from an island off the West coast of Canada. It's interesting living there if your goal is to leave the island and go play your music to other people. As you guys know too. it's the same that a lot of Australian bands think sometimes as well when they're trying to leave. You feel so remote and isolated and it feels impossible to leave. And then you leave and you miss it. That really intertwines with me with depression. Like, deteriorating mental health. There's the deep depression and then there can be mania then deep depression, and it's so polarizing. It reminded me of the ocan and it reminded me of growing up surrounded by water and it reminded me of how where are from… whre we are at sea level if the big earthquake - everyone here calls it The Big One - ever happens, our whole island will either completely be submerged by water and we'll all die, or at least we'' be more cut off and no-one could get us any food or anything. It's kind of like that existential dread under the surface that you push down and suppress and to live your life you have to push it all the way down, and not every day wake up and hope it's not today."
In the full interview, Courtney opens up more about Tsunami Sea, the temptations of rehashing the same winning formula that worked so well with Eternal Blue, why it was important to not do that, album opener Fata Morgana and why it was chosen as first point of contact, how Tsunami Sea represents Spiritbox moving forward, the early days of the band and the climate that spawned them, their early success and how they dealt with it, touring plans and more.


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