Courtney LaPlante Thinks Metalheads Focus Too Much on Genre

As we know, there are more subgenres of rock and metal than we can actually count, but is that a good thing? Spiritbox vocalist Courtney LaPlante thinks metalheads are too focused on genre, which sometimes makes them resistant to a band's evolution.

Spiritbox's Eternal Blue came out in late 2021, and we loved it so much that we named it our Album of the Year. Since then, the group has released a 3-track EP titled Rotoscope, and another track earlier this year called "The Void." Both releases were a bit of a sonic departure from Eternal Blue, but especially "The Void," which sees LaPlante using clean vocals throughout its entirety.

However, in a new interview with Kerrang!, LaPlante said that that doesn't mean Spiritbox will only release songs with clean vocals going forward — it was just a new sound they wanted to toy with.

“I feel like our subgenre of metal is so obsessed with the idea that any song you hear from a band is a mission statement, as in, ‘This is now what this band sounds like,’” she said.

“Maybe it’s like this in every genre and I just don’t see it as much, but when Doja Cat puts a song out, and she’s singing, [fans] don’t go, ‘She’s never going to rap again!’ We always have to tell people that when you hear a song, that doesn’t mean it was created in a linear vacuum, where a band made a song and then they put out only that song. You might hear a song that was written two years after the next song you hear. You don’t know when they came into existence."

That was the case with Spiritbox by the time Eternal Blue came out. When we spoke to LaPlante and guitarist Mike Stringer, the duo were already enthusiastic about the next chapter for the band because they'd already been sitting on that set of songs for so long. And apparently, the group is currently sitting on some material that's gonna surprise everyone.

“Every time [bands] put out boring music, they’re like, ‘Oh, we’ve matured,’" the singer continued. "I’m like, ‘No, I’m not mature or grown-up, I just wrote a song that’s more radio-friendly. I also wrote an ass-beater song – you just haven’t heard it yet!’”

As far as genres go, Spiritbox aren't concerned about fitting under a specific umbrella or adhering to a label. Because the band only has one studio album out, LaPlante believes they have a bit more wiggle room going forward, as they aren't married to a particular sound.

“I don’t feel like we’ve been around long enough to disappoint anyone. We are just getting started, and we’re still figuring out what we are, and I don’t even know if I want to find out," she explained. "I don’t care about genre, I just know we like making heavy music with low-tuned guitars. But I’m like, ‘Take me or leave me, this is what we sound like.’ I feel like a lot of bands are having fun with that too.”

As far as upcoming new music from the band?

“I think that everyone will be pleasantly surprised this year,” LaPlante teased.

Spiritbox are currently touring in Europe, and will hit the road in North America with Shinedown and Papa Roach starting in early September. See the full itinerary here.