Eternal Blue
| Spiritbox
Eternal Blue
Eternal Blue is the debut studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Spiritbox. It was released on September 17, 2021, through the band's own Pale Chord Records in partnership with Rise Records. Work began in 2018 and 2019 but was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed the album release initially slated for April 2020. Spiritbox relocated to Joshua Tree, California, and completed the songwriting process for the album, which Dan Braunstein and the band's guitarist Mike Stringer produced. The recording was finished by Braunstein in February 2021. Eternal Blue contains an array of metal genres and subgenres with electronic elements as part of Spiritbox's dynamic, while singer Courtney LaPlante employs both screamed and clean vocals. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
Show All-
Cryptic Rock
Eternal Blue is the complete package. A beautifully crafted debut album that solidifies Spiritbox’s place in the scene, it is a certified candidate for Album of the Year. Full of passion, intensity and showcasing Spiritbox’s dedication to constantly pushing boundaries.
-
Kerrang!
Eternal Blue is dizzying, cleansing and frightening. You need to delve deep to find your place within it, but that journey is the very thing that makes this album so interesting. It’s an entrance that brings darkness and beauty in shades of heavy that you haven’t quite encountered before. So humane and startling is its message that it clearly hasn’t come from the ‘other side’, but from the one we’re all about to join.
-
Metal Injection
Eternal Blue is what metal sounds like in 2021. No add-ons required. Just under two years into the new decade, Spiritbox have delivered the 2020s first landmark album. Eternal Blue will be remembered as a game changer, the kind of total reset of the rulebook we saw in Slipknot's debut, Pantera's Cowboys From Hell or (whisper it) Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory. One thing is certain. The metal scene may never be the same after this…
-
Tuonela Magazine
“Eternal Blue” is hands down the best debut album to be released this year (and one of the best overall) from a band with a ton of potential for being the next big thing in the metal scene. If this is just the appetizer, imagine what the rest of the meal will look like. In all seriousness now, the hype around SPITITBOX is well deserved, as the level of musicianship in this band is incredibly high and the technical aspect is on point. Could this be the metalcore album of the year? Remains to be seen, but my gut says yes.
-
The Young Folks
The entire album serves as a full catharsis for LaPlante, the band as a whole, and the fans who feel a certain resonance with the subject matter of the lyrics. I found Spiritbox just as deep and palatable the third time listening as it was the first time. And though I have my favorite tracks, the entire project works in tandem to create an audible portrait of the minds behind it.
-
Sputnik Music
You see, Spiritbox have more yet to offer, more growth, more great tracks and, if we’re lucky...they might even hit all that growth on a sophomore release. Flowers will wilt, but the blue is eternal.
-
Kill Your Stereo
Spiritbox’s debut LP is an exceptionally produced work, an emotionally resonant statement from Courtney LaPlante about her life, her darkest thoughts, and her experiences with depression. At its peak, ‘Eternal Blue’ is a colossal statement showcasing the tonal and genre fluidity that this band expertly wields. Spiritbox have existed for a couple of years, with killer EPs and singles under their belts already, yet ‘Eternal Blue’ is like a new beginning for the Canadian group. They’re only just getting started.
-
Distorted Sound Magazine
Eternal Blue is a masterpiece of modern heavy music; a record that twists and turns and sits long in your memory and warrants listen after listen. Not only does Eternal Blue live up to the immense hype but it exceeds it entirely. Heavy music has a new face and it belongs to SPIRITBOX.
-
New Noise Magazine
The songwriting talent on display here is simply undeniable, fearlessly pushing them lightyears ahead of their peers as much as it continually strives to set them apart. Eternal Blue is a vital, self-assured effort from the Vancouver trio, as stylistically versatile as it is pleasurably idiosyncratic.
-
Wall of Sound
You may find yourself wiping away tears when you reach the end of Eternal Blue, but that’s because Spiritbox have crafted this incredible album that connects with the listener on an emotional level and takes them on a journey of self-discovery, empathy and overcoming. This isn’t just a debut album, it’s going to become a staple listening experience for anyone who needs a momentary release from the struggles of reality and their lives.
-
Everything is Noise
I think Eternal Blue is a great gateway album for those getting into metal music in general from the mainstream. It sounds absolutely pristine on all fronts, yet it doesn’t push the boundaries whatsoever for what the genre can do as it was hyped to be. Spiritbox just do simple, catchy-yet-heavy tunes in an effective manner to convert even the most apprehensive listeners to this type of music. For those already deep into the genre looking for the next mind-blowing thing, keep looking.
-
Proghurst
‘Eternal Blue’ is not a perfect album, but it’s well made and far surpasses the majority of debut albums out there. Spiritbox has room to grow, and this is a good first entry in what is hopefully just the start of a long career.
-
Boolin Tunes
There’s no doubt in my mind that Spiritbox will continue to grow and become one of the most popular groups in the world with this record, but there are a few too many key issues with the album as a whole for me to ignore. Make no mistake, though, almost every single track here is worth your time, and this is a record you should absolutely give the time of day to (if you somehow haven’t already).
-
Punktastic
There’s something so inherently pure about ‘Eternal Blue’ that it speaks to you, and that kind of bond is hard to diminish. The colour blue feels like it plays a role throughout the record rather than just being the title of the album, be it the sorrow and pain in the lyrics or the spaciousness they surround the ambient moments with. Everything they’ve done allows you to submerge yourself deep into the record, and you won’t want to come back to the surface for a very long time. If there’s anything that this album proves, it’s this; Spiritbox are going to take over the world.
-
The Moshville Times
Every track creates a lasting emotional connection.
-
Louder Sound
the most eagerly anticipated debut in years repays the faith.
-
Metal Goddesses
Some may call it selling out. Some may call it artistic freedom or evolution. For me, “Eternal Blue” is a solid, beautiful debut album by exceptionally talented people who may have put more emphasis on the beauty rather than the ugly this time around as opposed to their beginnings.
-
Scream Blast Repeat
Spiritbox were always going to be under more pressure than any other metal band this year with the anticipation levels for Eternal Blue reaching fever pitch as early as 2019. Yet they deliver in style and prove that their stupendous ability to write memorable singles can translate into the arc of a long-play experience. This band need no hype when the music can do the talking. Their debut album is a major triumph for them and for the future of metal as a relevant artistic movement in pop culture.
-
Hardbeat
What Spiritbox have achieved in so little time is nothing short of remarkable; the hype surrounding them reached fever pitch following the announcement of Eternal Blue and it felt almost impossible for them to live up to it. But live up to it they have, crafting an album that takes the best elements of metalcore of the past decade or more, infuses it with a raw vulnerability and an atmospheric quality that’s all their own. This album was years in the making and it shows – in it, there’s an irrepressible creative flair that evolves throughout and thanks to its lengthy gestation and the band’s own perfectionism, Eternal Blue flows beautifully and feels like a truly cohesive whole that delivers on its promises and then some.
-
Upset Magazine
'Eternal Blue' sits simultaneously familiar and fresh. As if metal has, for the first time, found a home in the idea of epics and melody. A perfect scene of brutality and majesty all harmonising to create the next big thing: Spiritbox.
-
Rock Sins
Spiritbox not only manage to meet all the expectations placed upon them, they manage to subvert them all and with Eternal Blue they have created an enduring body of work that not only seperates them from the rest of the pack but will stand the test of time for decades to come.
-
The Rock Fix
Overall, Spiritbox has released a really good debut album. With the bands popularity skyrocketing with the release of ‘Holy Roller’, they had a lot to live up to, and I think this does live up to the hype. It isn’t perfect but that’s okay as the band show an immense amount of potential and I cannot wait to see what these guys end up growing into. They have left a lot of different doors open and they are really not limiting themselves to one style of music.
-
Electrik Jam
Spiritbox is an anomaly, as they have delivered song after song that not only holds my interest, but makes me wonder what they will do next. How far will they push that concept? “Eternal Blue” gives you some answers to how far they are willing to go, and just how multi-faceted the entire band is.
-
All Music
Boosted by an extended rollout that was prolonged by a global pandemic, Vancouver alt-metal outfit Spiritbox made their grand entrance onto the metal main stage with their chart-topping debut full-length, Eternal Blue. Home to the radio hit "Holy Roller," the LP is a nu-metal-meets-djent riff-fest that balances vocalist Courtney LaPlante's vocal gymnastics -- which veer from angelic highs to visceral lows -- with the band's wall of muscle. While late-era Evanescence is definitely a touchstone, fans of TesseracT, Deftones, and Meshuggah will have plenty to enjoy, especially with tracks such as the swirling "Circle with Me" and the haunted title track.
-
Bring the Noise UK
Eternal Blue is an utter masterpiece, worthy of every album of the year title that it will, undoubtedly, receive by the time 2021 leaves us.
-
New Transcendence
Whatever your tastes may be, Eternal Blue has something for everyone. If you’re looking to expand your horizons with something wonderfully different, yet wildly familiar, this album is for you. Moreover, though, this album is truly going to resonate with those who have felt the pain associated with loss. These songs, through their 43-minute entirety, resonate with a sad aura that refuses to be denied. Do yourself a favor and sink deep, lose yourself in Eternal Blue.
-
Outburn Online
Eternal Blue is an absolute thrill ride from start to finish. The songwriting and musicianship are well beyond what most bands would produce for their first full-length. One can only wait with great anticipation to see how Spiritbox continues to evolve and grow.
-
Square One Magazine
Eternal Blue is not only an instant classic you’ll wish you had the chance to hear for the first time again for decades to come and genuine musical masterclass in soulful storytelling, it effortlessly cements itself into the hearts of everyone who hears it and expertly declares Spiritbox as the new face of modern metal.
-
Deviant Art
"Eternal Blue" is the rare debut album that immediately puts a band on the map and sets fire to the building with just about every positive quality you can imagine. It's hard to say is the replay value will always be there with this album, but I have a feeling it will be. This is a must for every fan of the genre and everybody who wants something a little bit unique, a little bit fresh, and a complete killer from the first few seconds to the last.
-
Crucial Rhythm
Eternal Blue is an unquestionably eye-catching record, and Spiritbox is sure to become a household name and have a smash hit with Eternal Blue.
-
Invicta Media
They are bright and hopeful, echoing release from pain… The weight of expectation was heavy on Spiritbox, but Eternal Blue delivers in droves. Passionate, powerful and nuanced, this album is destined to leave a lasting impression and showcases exactly why Spiritbox are already so revered. Onwards and upwards for metal’s biggest new name.
-
Tuned Up
Spiritbox has channelled their inner anger on Eternal Blue. The record is a nod to the metal world and the art of melody.
Rate This Album and Leave Your Comments