Review
Review
Spiritbox take on Alexandra Palace
Main Stage energy, marriage proposals and metal: inside the room as Spiritbox play their biggest show to date
Spiritbox were halfway through their biggest ever headline show at London’s Alexandra Palace when powerhouse vocalist Courtney LaPlante admitted she was feeling nervous. “We didn’t think we could sell this show out… I’m honestly speechless. I can’t believe this, none of us can,” she explained. See, when the band first formed in a Canadian basement, they didn’t think their nerdy metalcore would see them playing to over 10,000 fans halfway across the world. “You all look beautiful and I hope there’s many more to come,” she continued. However, there wasn’t a moment of the ambitious gig that dwarfed them. “We all feel so at home. We’re finally with our people.”
Thanks to a handful of sprawling EPs and one blistering album (their second is due out next month) Spiritbox have become one of the most exciting new bands in metal. Their rapid rise has been matched with a whole lot of hype, and they’ve been touted as future Download festival headliners since they dropped breakout single ‘Holy Roller’ back in 2020. Hanging out on the red carpet of the Grammys or playing stadiums with Bring Me The Horizon hasn’t dulled their attack though. Brand new song ‘Fata Morgana’, the unrelease opening track to the upcoming ‘Tsunami Sea’, kickstarted their gig at Ally Pally in ferocious fashion and things didn’t let up for the pulverising ‘Halcyon’ either.
As intense as things were down the front, Spiritbox’s carefully crafted visuals meant the show still felt impressive from the very back of the room. Horror-inspired short films involving drowning men, twitching nails and demonic beasties added to the fantastical poetry of tracks such as ‘Cellar Door’ and ‘Jaded’ while the pure hatred of ‘Soft Spine’ came with pillars of fire.
Later, the emo-tinged ‘The Void’ was dedicated to those that had been there since the start before Spiritbox invited two fans onstage for a proposal. One “yes” later and the cheers were deafening. “I really feel like crying right now because that was so beautiful… And if you’ve been to a Spiritbox show before, you know that mens to take our pain and push it down, we shake ass,” Courtney explained before the groove driven explosion of ‘Rotoscope’ took hold.
New track ‘Perfect Soul’ was clearly written for intimidating venues like Alexandra Palace as the thunderous track conjured a sense of intimacy with the huge crowd, while the electronic theatrics of ‘No Loss, No Love’ saw the band continue to push boundaries. If this is a taste of what’s to come, those expectations of arenas and festival headline slots are only going to get louder.
The show was also a chance to round out the celebrations for debut album Eternal Blue, with viciously electric modern metal anthem ‘Holy Roller’ closing out the main set. Moments later, the twinkling opening of ‘Constance’ started up and the band reappeared for an acoustic take on the pretty, vulnerable song. As it built to a noisy, cathartic crescendo, confetti rained down from the sky. There aren’t many bands who can nail snarling aggression and delicate honesty, or make such a huge gig feel so warm, but across their blistering, thoughtful 90-minute set, Spiritbox proved what a special group they are.
Photos: Alexander Bemis
