Spiritbox flooded the UPMC Events Center when they brought their Tsunami Sea tour to Pittsburgh, with support from Dying Wish and Loathe.
Kicking off the evening was the hardcore/metalcore darlings Dying Wish. Although they’ve been a band since 2016, Dying Wish wasted no time showing us why they’ve risen to great heights in such a relatively short time. Their set was full of hard-hitting songs like “Symptoms of Survival,” “Enemies in Red,” and “Innate Thirst.” It has to be nerve-racking to be the opener for a band as big as Spiritbox, but Dying Wish did a fantastic job opening the night. The pit quickly engulfed the middle of the floor and kept its pace the entire evening.
Up next was my great white buffalo. A band I’ve been trying to see for years but always ended up getting ill the day before. That band was the legendary Loathe. Loathe was definitely worth the wait. Their unique mix of atmospheric rock, shoegaze and various flavors of metal translate beautifully onto the stage. The stage production and lighting only adds to the ambience of their music. Vocalist Kadeem France and guitarist and vocalist Erik Bickerstaffe took turns singing through songs like “New Faces in the Dark,” “Two-Way Mirror,” and my personal favorite, “Is It Really You?” Loathe also plays a new song on this tour, and it has been almost four years since we’ve been graced with an album from Loathe, so this is a good sign of things to come. Shortly after the set, Loathe released information on a show with Static Dress in NY, which sold out almost immediately. The demand for more Loathe is strong, so hopefully we see much more of them in the future.
There is no introduction needed for the final band of the evening, Spiritbox, but I’m going to write one anyway. It has been amazing to see Spiritbox rocket to such great heights. Guitarist Mike Stringer writes some of my favorite riffs of all time. They’re not overly complicated note salads thrown together to make new guitarists rage quit when they try to learn a Spiritbox song. They’re catchy and hummable. What metalcore band has hummable riffs? Parkway Drive maybe, but they aren’t on this tour. Just listen to that main riff in “Jaded.” It’s the metalcore GOAT. Hate me metal bros, I don’t care. I said it and meant it. Vocalist Courtney LaPlante has a unique mix of harsh screams and poppy (she is Poppy) cleans that give Spiritbox their heavy yet accessible sound. It’s the gateway drug to metalcore, and anything that gets more people in the genre is fine by me. Gojira opened the Olympics, and LaPlante just hit the stage at Coachella. Heavy music is reaching new heights, and it’s all thanks to bands like this.
On with the show! Spiritbox wasted no time hitting the stage and dropping the heavy riffs. Their set started off matching their latest album “Tsunami Sea” with “Fata Morgana,” “Black Rainbow,” and “Perfect Soul.” “Jaded” and “The Void” took us back to “The Fear of Fear” before “Tsunami Sea” hit with its incredible stage visuals.
Let’s talk about the visuals for a second. As a photographer, I sometimes get nervous when I see huge video walls. It usually means we’re going to end up with a camera roll of silhouettes. Major props to the visual and lighting team on this tour. The animations were perfectly curated to the music and weren’t just looping logos and text. The lighting design kept the band members well lit but wasn’t distracting. The color washes weren’t so intense that I was wishing for a quick death while editing my photos. Oddly enough I edited most of my photos in black and white, but that was to match the vibe Spiritbox has been putting out for the release of “Tsunami Sea.” I left some color in here so you could see what I’m talking about.
Spiritbox played a staggering 16-song set that hit a majority of their albums and EPs. There was no encore fake out, and the show ended on “Ride the Wave,” which was a great cooldown song to bring the crowd down off its heavy high.