Spiritbox's ferocious summer single "Holy Roller" has been one of heavy music's most surprising breakout hits of 2020. Between the song's relentlessly brutal sound and its terrifying Midsommar-esque music video (which Revolver proudly premiered back in July), it makes for a harrowing ride. For its follow-up, the Canadian trio have taken a sharp left turn away from the sheer sonic aggression of "Holy Roller," with singer Courtney LaPlante leaning into her sonorous singing voice, but the result is no less harrowing. "Constance" and its music video were both inspired by devastating loss: the deaths of LaPlante's and director Dylan Hryciuk's beloved grandmothers this year.
"When 'Holy Roller' took off, we knew that we wanted to use the follow up single as a statement to show that we are not just going to put out the same thing over and over," LaPlante commented. "We wrote the music for this song at the same time as 'Blessed Be' and 'Rule of Nines', but I hadn't ever committed to lyrics.
"I came to our director Dylan with a proposition: Let's create the music video and the lyrical content of the song at the same time. We both felt compelled for the song and story to reflect the sorrow we both feel about our grandmothers passing away recently.
"Due to border shut downs, I was not able to say goodbye to my grandmother Phyllis, to whom the song is in tribute, or attend her funeral. I always promised her that I would sing at her memorial service, because she always requested a 'pretty song with none of that scary screaming.' I hoped writing this song with no 'scary screaming' in it would help me find a sense of closure.
"Dylan wrote his video concept to honour his grandmother, Constance to whom the video is in tribute. Our music videos usually have a horror element to them, and we wanted to explore a different side of horror: the horror of feeling like your mind is betraying you, due to a long battle with dementia. With Dylan's permission, we named the song 'Constance' to immortalize her story."
Watch and listen above.
