It feels like yesterday that Spiritbox first showed up in Europe. Quiet arrival, thunderous sound. They played small club stages, and the buzz around them hinted at a shift in modern heavy music.
Years of fast growth, nonstop touring and critically acclaimed releases later, the Canadian band walked onto the huge stage at AFAS Live in Amsterdam last Saturday. It was their biggest Dutch headline show to date. They started as an internet sensation and now they’re arena-ready. A sold-out AFAS Live is a milestone, no question. The crowd packed the floor early. Die-hard metalheads stood shoulder to shoulder with newer listeners who’d come for the genre-bending sound.
Everyone wanted to know the same thing: could the band’s dense, atmospheric wall of sound fill a room this size? Their answer was loud and clear: they could. From the moment the house lights dropped, Spiritbox looked right at home. Courtney LaPlante is a force of nature and one of the most compelling vocalists in modern alternative music. She slid from haunting, ethereal cleans to bone-rattling gutturals without effort. Live, her range is breathtaking.
The setlist struck a good balance between the crushing foundations of 2021’s Eternal Blue, beloved EP cuts like The Fear of Fear, and the band’s latest material. “Circle With Me” and “Jaded” set off huge crowd sing-alongs. Then “Holy Roller” and “Cellar Door” turned the general admission floor into swirling mosh pits. The production matched the music. It looked sleek and stunning that deepened the dark, cinematic feel of their discography, and the focus stayed on the musicians and their musical performance.
What stands out most about Spiritbox in 2026 is their composure. They played for thousands in a prestigious venue, yet LaPlante stayed candid, humble and warm with the audience. She bridged the gap between a massive production and a personal connection. For an hour and a half, AFAS Live felt intimate.
Saturday night was another career-defining chapter for the band. They didn’t just fill AFAS Live. They owned every square inch of it, with confidence, artistic integrity and undeniable heavy power. Where they go next is anyone’s guess. But whenever they cross back over to Dutch shores, we’ll be in the front row to capture it all.
But wait, there's more!
