Tsunami Sea review – A Beautiful Masterpiece

“Dissolve, Displace, Rejoice, Repeat”

I’m truly at a loss for words. I can’t imagine where to begin with this review and how I want to describe the listening experience. I originally wanted to have this review out on March 7th when the album released, but as soon as I heard the transition from Fata Morgana to Black Rainbow I knew that this was going to be magical. For those who aren’t familiar with the band, Spiritbox is a Canadian Metalcore/Prog Metal band hailing from Vancouver Island. Since their formation in 2016, they have 2 Grammy nominations (for their songs Jaded and Cellar Door from their fantastic EP The Fear of Fear) and have released two full-length albums and 3 EPs.

Tsunami Sea is an experience that I wish I could relive for the first time. The starting track Fata Morgana is a brutal and heavy song that does an amazing job setting the tone for the rest of the album. What follows is a song that I still can’t believe exists, Black Rainbow. This song reinforced why I love music and this genre so much. It is a crushing and overwhelming song that starts with a wall of aggressive riffs that make you want to jump out of your seat and spin-kick everything around you. It’s not all aggressive vocals as Tsunami Sea features clean vocals with LaPlante’s best voice work in her career with songs like Perfect Soul and Ride The Wave. It’s astounding how she can go from beautiful cleans to aggressive screams. It’s awe-inspiring and a mark of an extremely talented vocalist. Spiritbox isn’t scared of experimenting on this album with the song Crystal Roses sounding straight out of Grimes’ discography. I’ve long believed that bands are at their best when they challenge themselves and bend the genre that they inhabit. It leads to projects like this being made and I personally am all for that.

The rest of the band also easily outshines everything they’ve done in their past work. Stringer’s guitar work on this is nothing short of masterful, displaying such insane talent with a standout on Soft Spine. Gilbert has such a beautiful voice when he provides backing vocals that perfectly complement LaPlante’s while also doing incredible bass work. Especially with the song Perfect Soul, the chorus is so beautiful with both of their vocals; it elevates the song. With Tsunami Sea there is no doubt that Rose is one of the best modern metal drummers out there. His work on this album is incredible and provides such a punch to the songs that, without his skill, wouldn’t hit as hard. Everyone in the band is just so talented and it’s such an honor to witness their growth in real time, whether it’s in their recordings or live shows.

Throughout this album you can tell that it lacks the “perfect” production that a lot of metalcore bands fall into. This is not a slight against the band; in fact, I think that’s what helps make this album stand out from the rest. The album sounds like music with a purpose rather than the robotic, same-old routine sound. This is clearly shown in Soft Spine where you hear the first and only recording LaPlante did for this track. It makes the song sound so much more bitter and angry than if it was re-recorded over and over again to attain that “perfect sound”. Tsunami Sea has a lot of little moments that help make the listening experience so fulfilling.

The storytelling and sound design that is present on this album is masterfully done, so much so that it eclipses what I thought was done perfectly on The Fear of Fear. This album proves to me that LaPlante is one of the best lyricists of modern metal and music in general. She has a talent for writing the most emotionally cutting lyrics that leave you feeling hollow. Songs like the title track and Ride The Wave made me an emotional wreck, and that’s how I knew this album was something special.

As I said before, Tsunami Sea has made me appreciate how much I love the metal genre. It’s a mesmerizing album that stands as Spiritbox’s best work and is a glowing example of the best that metal can provide. I proudly give Tsunami Sea a 10/10, and you’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t give this a listen. You can find Tsunami Sea on Spotify, Apple Music, or on their official merch store. Be sure to catch Spiritbox on their Tsunami Sea North American Tour on April 23rd at the Great Canadian Casino in Toronto with Loathe, Dying Wish (which our editors note here is an incredible band, so please give them a listen), and Gel.