Hurt You – Spiritbox

Vincent the Van Driver (he’s a Goth, we’ve covered this) and I were having a conversation recently about the anticipation building around Spiritbox and their debut album proper Eternal Blue. He thought after the last sneak peek (the rather excellent and melodic Secret Garden) that they were a Trojan horse Heavy Metal band. They had dressed themselves up as full on Death Metal Scream-o-core but the minute they got a sniff of the big time they would go Black Album straightforward smoothed out award show friendly.

“We are failing in crisis mode, Mutually assured destruction, Love the proxy and burn the bones, So I smile in the snare of devotion”

Vincent has changed his mind again. This morning (not this actual morning, I’m writing to you from the recent past using this here air tight seal time machine) Vinnie assured me the latest Spiritbox single was ‘Totally Metal’ and he didn’t know what I had been worried about. I tried to point out it wasn’t me who was worried and that only a couple of weeks ago I’d bought the delicious Constance (Acoustic) seven inch picture disc because I’m clamoring for product by this band and the wait is getting to me. Weirdly even though it’s labelled as an acoustic A-Side, full version B-Side my copy is blank on one side and I only got the Acoustic version as a download. Spiritbox fans, is that right?

“I want to escalate into the grave, I hope you find what you’re fighting for, I am happier when I hurt you, Your medicine is the coldest war”

There in is the beauty of this band. Delicate haunting acoustics and totally metal creepy screamoid thrash on different tracks, released within weeks of each other (and their own blend of coffee if you’re that kind of thirsty). Courtney LaPlante is fast becoming an icon of extreme music and it’s gateway out of the cul-de-sac ‘genre for genre’s sake’ that can lead a scene to its doom.

Just last week she appeared on the new single from those magnificent pointy heavy shouties Crown The Empire raising their profile and her own bands stock. This week she’s not even appearing the new video for her new single from her bands upcoming Ana hotly anticipated album. Instead we’ve got a mini horror movie about toxic dependency. It’s all happening!