Live Review: Spiritbox - Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
6th July 2023
Support: Loathe, Brand of Sacrifice
Words: Dan Barnes
Photos: Tim Finch Photography
Canadians Spritbox have been slicing through the genre of modern metal for the past couple of years now; no mean fete when you consider they are only one full-length and a couple of EPs into their career. Equally impressive is the selling out of a venue that Rancid have recently filled to capacity, meaning the evening would be an interesting experience to someone not hugely familiar with the band’s material. Eternal Blue is a fine listen, so what have I got to lose?
With a couple of heavyweight support bands waiting in the wings, it is up to fellow Canuks, Brand of Sacrifice, to get the evening going. Thankfully decommissioning the Venga Bus halfway through its journey, the Toronto-based deathcore band waste no time in smashing into the high BPM and cranking guitars of Blinded. Which sees the vocals switching between a more traditional extreme sound and the pain screeches of a more modern aesthetic. Demon King comes with a call for a circle pit as the digital wall at the back of the stage cycles an unending barrage of orange, white and black images. Lifeblood is a stomper with something of an industrial flavour, yet underscored by the symphonic, while Altered Eyes’ ferocity manages to contain a few hummable hooks. Exodus and Between Death and Dreams, the newest songs aired tonight, alongside the opener, show the band’s developing songwriting ability.
Liverpudlians Loathe have come fresh from the Tech Fest, where they stepped into the not-inconsiderable shoes of Suffocation and headlined the main Friday stage. I’d probably say the similarities between bands would be hard to pin-point, except that both are tremendous live performers. A stand-in drummer does not lessen Loathe’s intensity and they play in front of a sheer red wall, giving all members the appearance of being nothing more than silhouettes. It’s worked for Tool in the past, so why not Loathe?
Mournful synths give way to the full-in-your-face Aggressive Evolution; guitars are dirty and grinding while Kadeem France’s vocal shift between screams and soliloquy. With the exceptions of Dance on My Skin and Love in Real Time the whole of the set is taken from the I Let It In and It Took Everything record of 2020 and this could have been responsible for Loathe delivering such a mesmerising and captivating performance. Whether delivering modern progressive music or ripping away with pseudo-Black Metal blasts, there is clearly an intelligence about the band that should see era-defining records looming large in their future.
And, luckily, they are back here in a few weeks for Radar Festival.
Husband and wife team of Mike Stringer and Courtney LaPlante have been working together as Spiritbox since 2017 but seem to have tuned into the zeitgeist and become the hottest property in the heavy music scene of late. The opening parts of Rule of Nines makes me wonder what all the fuss is about, until Courtney launches in with her devastating voice.
Her time with Iwrestledabearonce has been well utilised as she screams and growls her way through the Metalcore parts of Spiritbox’s sound. But that’s only part of the story, as Spiritbox have not garnered the attention they have without mixing it up, injecting elements of the progressive, the alternate and the post into their sound. There’s even djent, nu and drone in there too for the discerning listener, all of which merge together into a thoroughly modern sound.
Which is probably the crux of the matter for Spiritbox – and I would say for Loathe and Brand of Sacrifice too – that their sound is a breaking free of the accepted parameters of the Heavy Metal genre and, instead, is an exploration of what the form can be. Just as we NWOBHM kids scoffed at the Dinosaurs clinging to Led Zeppelin and the ilk, so then does the new generation look upon us as ready to go extinct to make way for new growth. It is Nature’s way and a case of adapt and survive.
Spiritbox clearly have the chops to succeed, as Urban Electronica fits seamlessly beside the heaviest and most caustic tunes. Nine of Eternal Blues dozen songs are played and, although not over-familiar with the song titles I did recognise the sorrowful Circle With Me and the assault that is Yellowjacket.
It should also be remembered that this was Spiritbox’s debut Manchester show and I would guess the next time they come to town they’ll be headlining at the Apollo or maybe even the Arena. Until then I get the feeling that here is a band who are getting set to launch.
All photo credits: Tim Finch Photography
