Spiritbox is the heavy-metal brainchild of husband-and-wife team Mike Stringer and Courtney LaPlante. The pair formed Spiritbox in 2017, seeking artistic freedom from their previous band, and they have quickly gained a reputation as one of the most exciting and respected forces in contemporary Canadian metal. They have two Billboard Hard Rock number-one singles to their name — ‘Constance’ and ‘Circle With Me’ — and their debut album, Eternal Blue, rose to the upper reaches of charts all over the world on its release in September 2021. They have toured with the likes of Coheed & Cambria, After the Burial, and Underoath. Their Rotoscope EP, released in June 2022, spawned three Hard Rock top-ten hits, including ‘Hysteria’ and ‘Sew Me Up’.

LaPlante and Stringer first found recognition as members of American metal band Iwrestledabearonce. But after four albums, they sought fresh horizons and decamped to British Columbia, forming Spiritbox. Their metalcore spirit embraces distinctly non-metal influences, such as Tears for Fears, Bjork, FKA Twigs, Kate Bush, and many others, all combining to create modern metal music that is nevertheless hard to definitively pin down — progression is the name of the game.

When Eternal Blue was released in the fall of 2021, it caused a positive stir. Kerrang! Awarded it top marks, while Metal Hammer called it “staggeringly brilliant” and Loudwire named it as their rock/metal album of the year. It reached 13 on the Billboard 200 and also went top 20 in the UK, Australia, Canada, and Germany. Despite their live progression being temporarily halted by the pandemic, they are back out on the road and winning over new fans with every show.