Live Review: Spiritbox - OVO Wembley Arena, London 19/09/2026
Spiritbox deliver an arena show that returns to London; this time at Wembley Arena for a full-circle show at the end of the Tsunami Sea tour that readies audiences for the next chapter.
When Spiritbox started the Tsunami Sea tour; they were headlining a sold out Alexandra Palace show. Now they’re back; they’re headlining Wembley. Okay, it may not be that Wembley, which tonight, has an evening of American College Football in store – but packing out Ovo Arena Wembley on a busy Saturday night is no small feat for a band like Spiritbox, who have been rapidly ascending to arena ready venues ever since they broke out on the scene. Their path to Download headliner looks inevitable; if not with this album, two albums down the line – and Courtney LaPlante is well aware of the occasion, having spent time for a song with Evanescence and Poppy at the 02 as a warm-up the week before.
The vivid gothic imagery that accompanies Spiritbox makes them tailor made for a unique approach to contemporary metalcore that has seen them embraced by Download and Bloodstock already – their second album now establishes them as well-proven bands that others look towards, with a heavy shadow left over their performances by the home island of guitarist Mike Stringer at Victoria, British Columbia, with the band thinking back to the time they spent there and the subconsious dread that came with it due to the nature of the location they grew up on – the “scary tectonic plates” on the West Coast. LaPlante argues that “since we were little kids, everyone’s been telling us ‘how’ the big one is coming”. The tsunami at sea would be horrid; mass wave of natural inescapable disaster. That’s the backing of Tsunami Sea and right from the start you feel like the waves are crashing down around you when Courtney comes onto ‘Fata Morgana’ and goes full pelt into her arena ready guttural growls that come for the juglar. Michael’s riffs are instantly hypnotising from the get-go and you can see this was designed as the arena-level walk-on song, it goes for all the punches and is crystal clear from the off.
It’s Courtney exercising her vocal range early to show the audience we’re in good hands – this is how it’s done. Her vocals reach new heights during ‘Cellar Door’; and now the band run a difficult task of trying to pull from a setlist that can’t fit everything on it anymore. It means some songs are cut: heartbreakingly, no ‘Secret Garden’, but the two punch of ‘Black Rainbow’, ‘Perfect Soul’ and then into ‘Keep Sweet’ is a barnstormer. Every time, Courtney makes clear to the audience, they come back to London it is at the height of their next evolution as a band – Islington Assembly Hall was a proving ground, Ally Pally showed they could be arena headliners – and now Wembley shows the metal genre that they can take arena ready venues and have the whole floor moving. It’s engrossing. It’s moving. It’s captivating in equal spirit – not a single member of the crowd is disengaged, everyone is on board – and it’s an instant fan favourite set. When bands reach arenas it can be very tricky to engage the crowd of that size – but watching from above; it’s clear to see that this is the night Spiritbox won over everybody in the room. They’re massive – absolutely ready for the next great leap. It’s incredible that even despite the fact that the frequent set breaks often kill the momentum just as they are getting started, and it’s a testament to Courtney’s stage presence that she’s able to keep the fans engaged even despite the downtime. The only problem is that the music is at times; a bit too polished – too well choreographed, there isn’t room for improvision or mayhem. So the element of surprise is lost – but that works in Spiritbox’s favour, as it allows them to keep their set controlled for maximum carnage as and when they want; and that pays off in the fact that everyone is kept safe in the pits: crowd-surfers and pit-starters move with ease.
That control builds to a building point by the end – and a tease for the new era ‘Mourning’ – which debuts with a call to wash away the past. It allows Spiritbox to embrace a new chapter with the confidence of a band who are now aware that people will show up for their arena sets – now they have to keep them there. This calls back to the very end of ‘Deep End’ – not deployed tonight - and the transitions from the black and white of Tsunami Sea into something more gorgeous and colourful; rebirth in the ashes of disaster. Colours are saturated and visible and there is a more hopeful, optimistic slant here. This is the next chapter of Spiritbox – and it has me along for the ride.
Support comes from Dying Wish and Jinjer – we make it due to the end of Jinjer; and Jinjer show too that they are ready for the step up of an arena band. The prog-heavy metal is a hybrid that makes perfect sense for Spiritbox support; and they lean into the controlled chaos atmosphere by the end for ‘Duel’ – that goes hard and has the audience wrapped up and ready for Spiritbox. For me I’m well versed for Jinjer, having seen them twice now – and it feels like with Spiritbox, they’re ready to make the leap up to bigger things. It won’t be long before they too, take the journey that Spiritbox have done. But the fact is Spiritbox have done what they have done without anthems – without the big blockbuster hits. It’s remarkable. Surely; they have that in mind for album number three. And when they do drop them – and they will drop it – it’ll be a cracker. ‘Holy Roller’ is the song that changed everything for Spiritbox – they’re aware of its importance – and if you aren’t convinced – by the time the song comes on, you will be.
Words by Miles Milton-Jefferies
Photo Credit: @BETHANMILLERCO
