Eternal Blue (album)

In 2015, the engaged couple Courtney LaPlante and Mike Stringer were members of the American metalcore band Iwrestledabearonce. LaPlante had joined the band in 2012 to replace vocalist Krysta Cameron, who had departed mid-tour; Stringer eventually joined the band as a guitarist and played on their final album Hail Mary (2015). Eventually, LaPlante and Stringer felt their careers stagnating with the band; they left the band in late 2015. LaPlante and Stringer announced their new project, Spiritbox, on October 9, 2017. As Spiritbox, LaPlante and Stringer released the single "The Beauty of Suffering", which was followed by a seven-song, self-titled debut extended play (EP) on October 27, 2017. Their former Iwrestledabearonce bandmate Mikey Montgomery played drums on the EP. Bill Crook of the pop-punk band Living with Lions joined the group as a bassist, and Shreddy Krueger's Ryan Loerke became the band's first permanent drummer in 2018. Throughout 2018 and early 2019, Spiritbox debuted five singles that were later compiled into an EP titled Singles Collection, which was released on April 26, 2019; the EP was followed by the non-album songs "Rule of Nines" in 2019 and "Blessed Be" in 2020. The tracks were all self-recorded with personal equipment, although they were mixed and mastered in another studio. Loerke departed from Spiritbox in 2020, ==Recording==

The songwriting for Eternal Blue commenced several years before its release; most of the songs were written in 2018 and 2019. "Holy Roller" was written in January 2020 and Spiritbox debuted the unfinished track on a European tour in March. The album was initially scheduled for an April 2020 release but recording was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Spiritbox released "Holy Roller" as a single in the meantime. Spiritbox started pre-production on the project with their producer, former Volumes guitarist Daniel Braunstein, via the video-conferencing platform Zoom. The band reconvened in Joshua Tree, California, to work in "their own bubble", which allowed them to continue writing songs and revise existing material together during the pandemic. Although Crook was the official bassist of Spiritbox, Crook did record some backing-vocal performances. Eternal Blue was recorded over three weeks in February and the process was finished on March 1. ==Composition==

Spiritbox used several heavy metal-based musical styles on Eternal Blue; although LaPlante defined Spiritbox as a metalcore band, critics have described the album as metalcore, progressive metal, djent, post-metal, and alternative metal. Metal Hammer labelled the record "post-metalcore" while Allmusic described it as a "nu-metal-meets-djent riff-fest". Digital synthesizer is prominently used on Eternal Blue, This approach led Guitar World to describe Spiritbox as "digitally infused metal". The group said they were inspired by the 1980s pop music scene, Nine Inch Nails, and early post-punk bands such as The Cure during the album's production. LaPlante, who wrote most of the lyrics on Eternal Blue, explored themes of frustration and sadness. Songs The opening track of Eternal Blue, "Sun Killer", was written in January 2020. The song creates a dramatic atmosphere LaPlante envisioned as ideal for a band's entrance to a live show, and in the same way was chosen to open the album. According to LaPlante, the song's working title was "Heavy Clown", a reference to Shawn "Clown" Crahan of the nu metal band Slipknot and an allusion to the song's lyrical "nu metal references". According to LaPlante, "The Summit" is an attempt to bend musical genres in a way "that doesn't make sense"; she found defining the song as heavy metal was difficult. Her vocal performance took inspiration from the music of Charli XCX and the Weeknd. LaPlante noted the distinction of "Secret Garden" as "just one part of a full body of work that may not sound exactly like this song". Stringer's performance on the song includes a pick-scrape technique that has been likened to the work of Gojira. "We Live In a Strange World" was also written before the COVID-19 pandemic; the lyrics serve as LaPlante's anxiety about Spiritbox's growing recognition and her fear of failure. The song is dedicated to LaPlante's grandmother, Phyllis; because of the pandemic, LaPlante could not say a last goodbye to Phyllis before her death nor attend her funeral. The song's namesake is Constance, the grandmother of the music video's director, Dylan Hryciuk. Constance, to whom the video is dedicated, was in late stages of dementia at the time of its release. ==Release and promotion==

On May 25, 2021, Spiritbox announced Eternal Blue would be released on September 17, 2021; in the 24 hours following the announcement, 6,500 vinyls of the album were pre-ordered. Spiritbox attempted to tour again in July 2021, supporting Limp Bizkit in the US; this tour was also cancelled after a few dates due to safety concerns involving the pandemic. This aborted tour caused the band many unexpected expenses. We Came as Romans waived rental charges for their lighting package. With the exception of an appearance on the Coheed and Cambria-headlined S.S. Neverender cruise in October 2021, Spiritbox did not begin live performances in support of the album until 2022, when they were a special guest on Underoath's Voyeurist tour in February and March, joining Bad Omens and Stray from the Path. In May, it was announced Spiritbox had joined the second leg of Ghost's Imperatour alongside Mastodon through August and September 2022. Crook left Spiritbox shortly after the tour's announcement and was replaced by former As I Lay Dying bassist Josh Gilbert. Spiritbox played their first live show in the United Kingdom in June 2022 at Download Festival. The album's official headlining tour of the United States did not proceed until April 2023 with guests After the Burial and Intervals. Singles Spiritbox found critical and commercial success with "Holy Roller", which was released on July 3, 2020. The band worked with Revolver to premiere the single and an accompanying music video. The song's original version spent seven weeks as number one on Sirius XM Liquid Metal's radio chart show Devil's Dozen, The remix spent five weeks at number two on Sirius XM Liquid Metal's Devil's Dozen. "Holy Roller" was later covered by a nine-year-old girl named Harper on the 17th season of America's Got Talent; the show's judges gave Harper a resounding positive reception and she performed the song live with the band in London. On December 4, 2020, Spiritbox debuted the ballad "Constance", The third single from Eternal Blue, "Circle With Me", was released on April 30, 2021, with its music video, directed by Orie McGinness. In mid-May, the single topped the US Billboard Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart, reached number five on the US Hot Hard Rock Songs, number 12 on the US Rock Digital Song Sales, number 50 on the US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, and number 71 on the US Digital Song Sales chart. "Circle With Me" was followed by "Secret Garden" on May 25; During the first week of August, "Constance" garnered enough public attention to stay at number one on the US Billboard Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart and reach number 19 on the US Billboard Hot Hard Rock Songs. The album's final single, "Hurt You", was shared on August 20; Hryciuk again directed the music video. "Hurt You" charted at number 20 on the US Billboard Hot Hard Rock Songs in the week of September 4, 2021. ==Critical reception==

On Metacritic, a review aggregator site that compiles reviews from mainstream publications and assigns a weighted average score out of 100, Eternal Blue received a score of 84 based on four critic reviews. This score indicated "universal acclaim". Wall of Sound reviewer Paul Brown likened listening to Eternal Blue to a musical journey, connecting with the emotions of the listener and taking them "on a journey of self-discovery, empathy and overcoming". Several reviewers singled out specific songs. "Eternal Blue" and "Halcyon" were highlighted by Owen Morawitz at New Noise Magazine for their songwriting and musical versatility, which he cited as reasons the album could appeal even to the most skeptical listeners. Outburns Nathan Katsiaficas also praised "Halcyon" for its turn from light to heavy, which he felt "encompasses the variety of dynamics" showcased on Eternal Blue. Calling the record a "modern metal masterpiece", he highlighted its songwriting and musicianship as key elements that make it an exciting listen from start to finish. Similarly, Kerrang! reviewer Steve Beebee noted the contrast of "dreamlike soundscapes" on "Secret Garden" and "The Summit" with the heaviness of "Silk in the Strings" and "Holy Roller". Comparing it to the works of Tesseract, Deftones, and Meshuggah, AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung said fans of these bands would particularly appreciate tracks like "Circle With Me" and "Eternal Blue". Despite this warm reception, some critics found imperfections with the album. Alex Sievers of Kill Your Stereo found that Eternal Blue overused atmospheric effects, though he praised its diversity. The contrast between the brutality of "Holy Roller" and the cleaner, more atmospheric nature of "Constance" stood out to him, and he singled out "Secret Garden" as among the album's strongest tracks, particularly for its hook. Metal Hammers Dannii Leivers noted that, while Spiritbox's combination of heavier and gentler sounds was not a new concept, the material on Eternal Blue carries an emotional tone that improves its appeal. She concluded: "Eternal Blue is a staggeringly brilliant record that resoundingly delivers on the hype". Sputnikmusic's Robert Garland, though impressed with the album, noted that Spiritbox had room to grow despite their success. ==Commercial performance==

Eternal Blue entered the Billboard 200 chart at number 13 with 23,000 album-equivalent units earned in the United States, of which 19,000 were pure album sales, in the tracking period September 17–23. The album ranked third on the Top Album Sales chart in the week ending October 2, 2021. The album also charted at number 8 on the Top 50 Albums Chart in Australia, although it was placed at number 8 mid-week on the UK chart on September 20, 2021. Eternal Blue peaked at number one on both the Australian ARIA Top 20 Vinyl Album chart and the US Billboard Vinyl Album Sales chart, and at number 2 on the UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart. It reached number 2 on the US Independent Albums chart By March 2025, Eternal Blue had sold 230,000 album-equivalent units in the United States, and approximately 24,000 copies in the United Kingdom. ==Accolades==

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. Spiritbox • Courtney LaPlante – lead vocals • Michael Stringer – guitar, bass, drums, background vocals (tracks 2, 3, 6, 11) • Zev Rosenberg – drums • Bill Crook – background vocals (tracks 2–5, 9–12) Additional musicians • Daniel Braunstein – drums • Sam Carter – additional vocals (track 3) Production • Daniel Braunstein – production, engineering, mixing • Michael Stringer – co-production • Jens Bogren – mastering Design • Kevin Moore – art direction, design at Soft Surrogate ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==References==