Featured Article Summary #253

Eternal Blue is the debut studio album by the Canadian heavy metal band Spiritbox, released on September 17, 2021, through Pale Chord Records and Rise Records. Courtney LaPlante and Mike Stringer formed Spiritbox in 2016 after leaving Iwrestledabearonce, released an EP in 2017, and then developed Eternal Blue starting in 2018. Their progress was disrupted when plans for an April 2020 release were paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After singles like “Holy Roller” and “Constance” in late 2020, the band moved to Joshua Tree, completed writing in early 2021, and finished recording in March 2021 with Daniel Braunstein producing. The album blends heavy metal subgenres with electronic elements and features both screamed and clean vocals, drawing inspiration from bands such as Slipknot and Deftones, as well as others. All five singles charted on Billboard, the album debuted at number thirteen on the Billboard 200, and critics widely praised its production, songwriting, and performances. In 2015, Courtney LaPlante and Mike Stringer left the metalcore band Iwrestledabearonce after feeling stuck as replacement members and wanting a new creative direction. After their marriage, they started a new project called Spiritbox, announcing it in 2017, and released their debut EP the same year. Over the next few years they put out several singles and other releases, then changed drummers in 2020 when Loerke left and Zev Rose joined, just before a tour was cancelled due to COVID-19. Songwriting for Eternal Blue began years before release, with most tracks written in 2018–2019 and “Holy Roller” added in early 2020. The album’s planned April 2020 release was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the band continued working remotely, signed with Rise Records in September 2020, and promoted the record with music videos while it gained attention. In early 2021, they reunited in Joshua Tree to finish the album by April 2021; it was recorded in isolation over three weeks, with producer Daniel Braunstein recording the band and Josh Stringer performing the bass parts while Tyson Crook provided some backing vocals. Eternal Blue mixes many heavy metal styles, with critics labeling it metalcore, progressive metal, djent, post-metal, and alternative metal. The band also uses a lot of digital synthesizers and draws on 1980s dark rock, along with influences like Nine Inch Nails and early post-punk, while keeping song structures minimalist and “airy.” Musically, LaPlante switches between screaming and singing, and the band uses low tunings (often drop F#), sometimes changing tunings multiple times in a single track. Lyrically, she focuses on frustration and sadness, and the album’s title comes from “EternalBlue,” an NSA computer exploit, which she uses to capture the mood rather than make it about cybersecurity. “Eternal Blue” is built from songs written mainly between 2019 and early 2020 that blend heavy metal with other styles and moods. Tracks like “Sun Killer” and “Yellowjacket” were shaped for dramatic live-show impact, with “Yellowjacket” featuring vocalist Sam Carter of Architects, while “Hurt You” focuses on a toxic, doomed relationship. As the album goes on, songs such as “The Summit,” “Secret Garden,” and “Silk in the Strings” play with genre-bending vocals and influences from artists like Deftones, Charli XCX, the Weeknd, and Wu-Tang Clan. The album’s emotional center shifts from anxiety and pressure (“We Live In a Strange World,” “Halcyon,” “Circle with Me”) to a darker, violent theme in “Holy Roller,” and ends with “Constance,” an ethereal, metal-leaning tribute to LaPlante’s grandmother during a difficult time when she couldn’t say goodbye or attend the funeral.