Album Review: Decades By Motionless In White
Album artwork for Decades by Motionless In White
Hailing from Scranton, Pennsylvania, Motionless In White have been a mainstay in the metalcore scene for almost 20 years. Their new album “Decades” is the culmination of that time and moving onto the next era of their sound. With a record based on nostalgia and re-living the past, will they stick to their roots or find new unique ideas to push themselves to go for another 20 years?
We start with the title track Decades which immediately reminds you who Motionless In White are, with Chris Motionless’ iconic voice on a fast and upbeat track, the idea of this album is to reminisce on the bands “Decades” of performing and this track shows that they still have it all in their bag. This song has been used to reintroduce people back into the sound of the band and they have used their time wisely to let you know that they are still here and here to stay.
The third single that they released was R.I.P which starts with a feature from Skylar Grey on a much more mellow track then the opener. It seems to be a love song with sick intentions, speaking about how if a person were to leave them that they would die on the spot but not be at peace. Chris uses this concept to create a track that could be seen as a beautiful love song, but also a much darker vision circling a toxic relationship that will always end badly. All round this is a solid track that utilises the band's more clean and laid back abilities.
On Fight Like Hell we’re welcomed into the track with the lyrics, “This is my brutality” which is a reference to WWE superstar Rhea Ripley, whose theme song was written and performed by Motionless In White. With many nods to professional wrestling, this track uses a mix of modern metalcore and nu metal with a 30 second moment of quick rapping and a very quick instrumental before going back to their roots with a quintessential metalcore breakdown.
With an album name of “Decades” and the band mentioning that this is a culmination of all their years of work you will start to realise that this still feels very modern and structured, which does lead to disappointment as we are 5 songs into this record.
Things seem to take a turn with the track All I’ve Ever Known. It starts with the same Motionless In White we know but as you reach the half way point into the track and the breakdown is about to kick in, what could maybe be the best use of EDM in metalcore is used, coming from out of left field you would have not expected this to be placed on a track like this, but it works so perfectly that it does not feel out of place. Chris continues to shout and scream during this before rolling back into a catchy and dance inducing chorus. This is the take away track from the album with the unusual use of genre mixing and the singalong nature of the song, this will be the track to look out for.
Enter a vampire-esque organ with a Blade Runner beat on top of it, Love At First Bite is a track all about being a vampire, but unfortunately this comes off as cringe and cheesy with that same organ playing on loop with line after line of vampire lust. There is no good things to point out as for what feels like an eternity of metaphors of sex as a vampire, it makes this feel like a punishment to listen to. If you hate the song Werewolf by the band you’ll be bound to dislike this track as well.
After a few more poor songs we are back to blast beats and an actual metalcore track. Afraid Of The Dark was the first single released for the album and it showcases the quintessential Motionless In White. The track again starts with the similar techno backing but we are then thrown into a constant blast beat and Chris Motionless giving his all into screaming his pain and struggles about being isolated and alone. Chris sings through his struggles for the chorus and then it immediately kicks back into a hateful and violent statement from the band with the breakdown speaking about rebuilding himself through pain, and how this lesson took him 20 years to learn, which is a reference to how long he has been doing this.
Finally we reach maybe one of the oddest covers in the scene. Sunglasses At Night is a song by Corey Hart, released in 1983, which Chris has said is one his favourite songs, when starting this track you would think this is similar to the “Pop Goes Punk” compilations of the early 2010s, but it is far from that. This is a one for one cover of an early 80s pop song with Chris singing each part as closely as possible which ends this record on an odd but very positive note. Upbeat and happy is not normally what the band go for but it has been done extremely well.
For the tracks that were missed, they pass as okay songs with not much to write home about which is how this album will be viewed; many tracks do not live up to the name of Motionless In White. This seems to be an album for diehard fans but for someone new or coming back to the band you would be better off listening to their earlier, better constructed albums. Whilst being named “Decades” you would think they would try and bring back elements from the starting days but it is hard to point out and find anything like that.
FFO: Pierce The Veil, Sleeping With Sirens, Black Veil Brides
SCORE: 5/10
Decades by Motionless In White is out on all streaming platforms on Friday, 17th July, released via Roadrunner Records
