A viral video. Collabs with Megan Thee Stallion. Stadium shows with Korn and Bring Me The Horizon. And now, stunning new albumTsunami Sea. There’s just no stopping Spiritbox

WORDS: DANNII LEIVERS

PICTURES: JONATHAN WEINER

Experts have long known the Pacific Northwest is a ticking time bomb. For decades, millions living in the stretch from Canada’s British Columbia to the state of California have been warned about ‘The Big One’, an 8.0or 9.0-magnitude super-earthquake destined to trigger a massive tsunami, which will unleash hell right down the coast. And unfortunately, the science tells us it’s not a matter of if… but when.

Bang in the path of destruction is Vancouver Island, located 60 miles west of Vancouver, across the Strait of Georgia. The island’s capital, Victoria, is the hometown of vocalist Courtney LaPlante and her husband, guitarist Mike Stringer. It’s the place where they masterminded Spiritbox, one of the most hyped and exciting metal bands of the last decade.

Mike was born on the island, and Courtney moved there when she was 15. Both grew up hearing warnings about the tsunami, living under the threat of its looming shadow.

“It’s something that is always in the back of our heads,” Courtney admits.

Spiritbox have tapped into that existential dread on the band’s emotionally charged and massively anticipated second album, Tsunami Sea. Combining tech metal, metalcore and nu metal with huge, dense waves of kaleidoscopic and ethereal melody alongside Courtney’s silky-to-explosive vocals, the record is riddled with anxiety and shaped by the duo’s experience growing up on Vancouver Island.

“Courtney, the daughter and sister and friend, loves it, but Courtney the artist doesn’t have a fantastic time there,” explains Courtney.

Her concept of home is a complex one. Having moved to Vancouver Island from Alabama as a teenager, it was the place she found herself, discovering her love for heavy music and realising her ambitions of becoming a musician. But to become successful, she knew she’d need to leave eventually. She points out that to get off the island, the options are to take a flight or a ferry to the mainland, an extra, expensive layer of admin that made their lofty ambitions with Spiritbox feel unachievable.

Spiritbox (left to right): Josh Gilbert, Zev Rose, Courtney LaPlante, Mike Stringer

PRESS/JONATHAN WEINER

“PLAYING A STADIUM IN BRAZIL MADE US FEEL FAMOUS!”

COURTNEY LAPLANTE

“Everyone feels like their hometown is isolating if it’s a small town, but ours is figuratively and literally isolating.”

You can hear the ocean throughout Tsunami Sea, particularly on atmospheric album closer Deep End. It’s a deliberate stylistic choice, says Mike, intended to conjure a sense of beauty and trepidation.

“I love layering. I love stacking and making a lot of the ambience. We utilised a lot of nature sounds, whether it was rain, waves, wind… And that’s supposed to be very symbolic of the island.”

On No Loss, No Love, they paint the island as a “venus flytrap”; naturally breathtaking but suffocating, a place that will devour your dreams unless you escape, with the lyrics: ‘I was surrounded by pearls that I couldn’t eat and diamonds I couldn’t drink / An island that breathes is a body that eats.’

“It’s beautiful, it’s incredible, and I can see why people never leave,” adds Mike, who began leaving his hometown to tour with bands on the mainland when he was 16. “Then there’s other people that unfortunately are stuck. The island is very much a bubble, so there is a feeling of, ‘What am I doing? Where am I going from here?’”

We can’t help but wonder who in their right mind would choose to live somewhere like this.

“Even with all that in mind, Vancouver Island is one of the most sought-after real estate markets in Canada,” shrugs Mike. “You can’t get a condo for less than almost a million bucks. People pay that to live in this area because it’s gorgeous, but then in the back of your mind, you’re like, ‘If the earthquake happens, we’re all screwed.’”