At tonight’s Spiritbox show, vocalist Courtney LaPlante addresses the anxiety and isolation of the Canadian band’s origins: “We grew up on Vancouver Island, far away from our dreams.” Now touring Europe in support of their acclaimed 2025 album Tsunami Sea, Spiritbox show no trace of these early struggles, delivering a confident, polished performance of anthemic metal.
This UK tour follows a US run opening for nu-metal icons Evanescence, with whom they share a fascination with the musical tension between hard and soft – and in LaPlante, a compelling gothic frontperson. They share a flexible approach to genre with much contemporary metalcore, deftly incorporating elements of drum’n’bass, R&B and industrial music. Circle With Me has Running Up That Hill-esque drums and reverb-laden guitar. The EDM-inflected Crystal Roses doesn’t completely gel, but LaPlante’s Auto-Tuned vocals add an interesting new texture to the mix.
Flanked by bassist Josh Gilbert and guitarist Mike Stringer, LaPlante is the anchor of the band’s dynamism, known for both her guttural metal scream (exceptional during Cellar Door) and the purity of her clean vocals. If you ever wondered what a metal band fronted by Ariana Grande would sound like, it’s The Void, all smoky R&B vocals and propulsive guitars. For Keep Sweet (dedicated to “the girls, the gays and the theys”, of which there are many present) she switches between both modes with impressive control, like another nu-metal icon: Chester Bennington of Linkin Park. She also has great stage presence, striding in PVC trousers, trailing straps and ribbons.
Despite this, it’s sometimes difficult to feel involved in the show. The drapes framing the stage box the band in and disrupt sightlines. Drummer Zev Rose– also a hugely dynamic player, especially when using electronic percussion – is cut off from his bandmates on a high drum riser. The extreme polish of the music can veer into flatness, and it feels incongruous that such heavy music has little room for grit or unpredictability.
“It’s time to wash away all the baggage from the past” LaPlante declares before closing the set with new single Mourning. Now that Spiritbox have definitively shed their demons, introducing some disruption into their supremely confident approach could take them even further.
Spiritbox are touring the UK until 19 September.
