Spiritbox is a Canadian heavy metal band, originally from Victoria, British Columbia, publicly established by guitarist Mike Stringer and vocalist Courtney LaPlante in October 2017.

The band's full lineup comprises married couple LaPlante and Stringer alongside drummer Zev Rose, and bassist Josh Gilbert.

[2] LaPlante and Stringer had each replaced a previous member of Iwrestledabearonce, and were never comfortable with that status in the band; the two also desired to pursue a new personal and creative direction.

[3] Stringer wrote the drum parts for a planned extended play, which were rearranged by their session drummer at the time, former Iwrestledabearonce bandmate Mikey Montgomery.

[15] Soon afterward, the project was paused for some time, finding themselves deadlocked in their efforts to play the songs in live performances without additional musicians.

[17][18] Jason Mageau, the former manager of Iwrestledabearonce, founded the Pale Chord label to release Spiritbox's music through a distribution deal with The Orchard.

[1] Mageau advised the band to promote Spiritbox's music online for two years rather than undertaking an expensive touring regimen.

[1][23] The band's debut full-length album, Eternal Blue, was originally scheduled for release in 2020, but production was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[35] Due to quarantine rules, the band gathered in isolation at a studio in Joshua Tree, California, to continue working on their debut album.

[41][42] The band attempted to tour again in July 2021, supporting Limp Bizkit in the US;[43] this was also canceled after a few dates due to safety concerns involving the pandemic.

[49][2][50] Nearing the release of Eternal Blue in mid-September 2021, LaPlante revealed that drummer Rose was an official member of Spiritbox.

[55] According to Pollstar, Spiritbox's official merchandise store grossed $1 million from its opening in May 2020 to October 2021, with sales earning between $30,000 and $60,000 per month.

[56] In August 2021, Spiritbox was announced as one of the supporting bands on Underoath's Voyeurist tour, along with Bad Omens and Stray from the Path, in February and March 2022.

[59][60] Ghost announced a few days later that Spiritbox would be guests alongside Mastodon as opening acts for the second North American leg of their Imperatour through August and September 2022.

[63][64] Spiritbox quickly recruited Josh Gilbert, who had recently left As I Lay Dying, as their temporary touring bassist.

[71][72] On March 7, 2023, Falling in Reverse announced the Popular Monstour, a tour of the United States on which Spiritbox would perform as a guest at six shows.

[98] Spiritbox will embark on a European headlining tour in February 2025, making five stops in Germany and one each in London, Paris and Tilburg.

[119] John D. Buchanan of AllMusic wrote that "[Spiritbox echos] acts like Tesseract, Deftones, and Evanescence, their sound -- incorporating elements of metalcore, nu-metal, prog, shoegaze, and djent -- combines crushing heaviness with atmospheric ethereality, while Courtney LaPlante's versatile voice swoops from gorgeous melodicism to tortured screams and shrieks.

[120] Revolver's Eli Enis described the band's musical style as an arrangement of "alt-metal with elegant vocals and thunderous djent grooves".

[116] In a 2019 interview, LaPlante said the band's music was constructed out of a progressive metal foundation before being condensed for the final version of the songs.

[121] However, she more closely identified Spiritbox as a metalcore group near the release of Eternal Blue,[10] though she also said that "[her] main goal with this band is fluidity".

[3] The band integrates electronic elements within their sound as distinctive characteristics, as part of a musical genre evolving through the artistic use of new technologies.

Guitar World wrote that Spiritbox "successfully mastered the art of digitally infused metal" while "maintaining a sonic stamp that's completely their own".

[123][124] Spiritbox combined electronic styles after deriving inspiration from the 1980s pop music scene, Nine Inch Nails, and early post-punk bands such as the Cure.

[120] LaPlante and Stringer have credited Alexisonfire and Protest the Hero as early musical influences which carried over into their work with Spiritbox.

[122] LaPlante has cited Tesseract,[3] Deftones,[2] Kate Bush,[125] and Amy Lee as influences;[126] and mentioned that Meshuggah was her "standard bearer" in heavy metal.

[10] Her vocal phrasing, based on her musical expression, is influenced by contemporary R&B artists such as Doja Cat, H.E.R., SZA, and the Weeknd.

highlights her vocal performance saying that "Few frontpeople handle the transition from cleans to screams with the skill, depth and ferocity of Courtney LaPlante".