Spiritbox // The Fear Of Fear // EP Review

10

Canada’s finest export since Maple Syrup, Spiritbox, is back with another blistering collection of tracks that continues to cement its reputation as one of the finest and gnarliest bands around at the moment.

Embracing this modern digital age, Spiritbox keep dropping musical bombs to keep everyone in line, reminding them that they haven’t gone anywhere! Obviously, since their meteoric rise over the past few years, they have been in demand globally, touring relentlessly on headline tours and as support for some of the biggest names in the business where they find the time to record new music I do not know, but they have! And it’s fuckin awesome!

‘Cellar Door’ rips open this new collection of tracks and immediately you know that Spiritbox is just on an upward plane, that savage sound they have created between them is majestically documented as always with absolute precision, their behemoth sound and brutal aggressive nature just hits you right between the eyes and weirdly you’re like “Gimme More”, “Gimme More” and they do, ‘Jaded’ lures you in with its melancholic vocals but that quickly is evaporated as the slamming guitars, drum patterns and guttural vocals of Courtney kicks in. That perfect blend of soft and savage just keeps you perfectly engaged as a listener and that rollercoaster ride gets better with every spin, ‘Too Close’ feels more of an EDM-infused rocker, with an addictive undercurrent that flows throughout the track whilst the hefty guitars and killer backline, drums and base create a sonic landscape that is just mindblowing.

‘Angel Eyes’ blows the fuckin doors off the hinges with it’s explosive industrial vibe from the start, Courtney’s harrowing screaming vocals and the behemoth-sounding riffage that accompanies them just ply’s the weight down on you till it crushes you. They create these pockets of space before battering you repeatedly with monstrous breakdowns, it is a work of art! ‘The Void’ delivers a totally different experience with a more uptempo-uplifting vibe, again with those almost EDM/Dance under-currents running through it with a wall of distortion holding it together, a crazy balance but one that they seem to do work for them time and time again.

The EP closes off with ‘Ultraviolet’ a slowburner, soft at the edges with beautiful melodic clean vocals that lure you into a false sense of security that Spiritbox, might be a warm and cuddly band, like a warm blanket on a cold winters night, there to re-assure, comfort and make you feel good, wrong! They’re the kind of band that throws an ice-cube in just when you’re starting to fall asleep! Don’t trust them! But actually, the brutal violence of that ice cube never arrived during the closing song, so maybe they are cuddly after all?

Regardless, The Fear Of Fear is just another stunning collection of tracks that for me reassures us that Spiritbox are here to stay, delivering again and again, raising the bar continuously, doing it their own way, trusting in the process and staying true to sonically what they feel represents them at any given time. God bless Canada and god bless Maple Syrup!

More please.

Mark

The Fear Of Fear is out now courtesy of Rise Records/Pale Chord.

PRE-ORDER NOW HERE

 

‘The Fear of Fear’ builds on the band’s momentum from their massively successful 2021 debut album ‘Eternal Blue’, which topped charts and dominated critics’ year-end lists. The 6-track EP features previously released singles “The Void” and “Jaded“. Pre-order ‘The Fear Of Fear’ now HERE.

Spiritbox - Cellar Door video

WATCH: Official music video for “Cellar Door”

The Fear of Fear Artwork

SPIRITBOX

THE FEAR OF FEAR

TRACK LISTING

1. Cellar Door

2. Jaded

3. Too Close / Too Late

4. Angel Eyes

5. The Void

6. Ultraviolet

ABOUT SPIRITBOX:

Spiritbox are arguably *the* hottest band in heavy music. Their debut album, Eternal Blue, dropped September of 2021 and rolled in on a global tsunami of critical acclaim, perfect score reviews and features everywhere including Spin, Forbes, Billboard and Alternative Press to multiple front covers including Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Alternative Press, Rock Sound, Distorted Sound, Pollstar, and Revolver. The album spawned a string of hit singles including “Holy Roller“, “Constance“, “Circle With Me, “Secret Garden and most recently, “Hurt You“. ‘Eternal Blue’ charted #13 Billboard Top 200, #1 Rock, #1 Hard Rock, #1 Vinyl, #2 Internet Albums, #2 Independent, #3 Digital Albums, #3 Album Sales and top 20 of the official charts in Australia (#8), Germany (#17) and UK (#19). To date, Eternal Blue has clocked up over 265 million streams.

Spiritbox followed the release of Eternal Blue with the 3-song Rotoscope EP, in 2022. The title track for which came accompanied by an official music video shot by Max Moore, which has run up over 3.6 million YouTube views. The EP has notched up 28.5 million streams.

To date, Spiritbox have accumulated over 436 million career streams across platforms and 76.4 million YouTube views. They were also nominated for 2 Juno Awards last year for Breakthrough Group Of The Year and Metal/Hard Music Album of The Year last year.

Find SPIRITBOX Online:

spiritbox.com

Facebook  Twitter  Instagram  Youtube

 

10