Goth metalcore maestros Motionless In White rediscover their dark groove on career-defining seventh album
After some 20 years as a band – a fact to which Decades' title directly points – Motionless In White can justly claim ownership not only of their own little corner of musical real estate, but also to the impressive Victoriana-goth mansion they've built on it.
There’s a newfound confidence here, a sense of pride even. Sometimes heavier, sometimes poppier, Chris Motionless and friends are simply wallowing in all the things they do well, trying things and seeing what comes out. For the most part, you just wanna jump in there with them.
Last time out, 2022’s Scoring The End Of The World seemed a muddled set of contrasting ideas, some of which worked and some of which didn’t. No such trouble here, as illustrated by the scathing, instantaneous log_in//crash_out, a brilliantly timed song decrying social media’s dark side. In contrast, R.I.P.’s a gloomily glossy goth ballad about separation, a salutary reminder about the dangers of obsession.
While MIW pull this off with funereal grandeur, more combative by far are the explosive title track, plus Fight Like Hell and All That I’ve Ever Known. These effectively swamp angry alt metal over rapped sections, Chris making these transitions seem effortless.
A band that loves dipping in and out of genre, they’ve never done it so effectively. It therefore makes perfect sense to include guest artists as varied as Skylar Grey on R.I.P. and, on the skittish, wiry Playing God, a blazing contribution from the ageless Corey Taylor. Cue layers of carnage familiar to Slipknot fans, onto to which MIW still bolt a proper chorus and a monstrous breakdown that concludes matters in an ever-slowing, ever-descending spiral.
On top of that there’s the relatively pop-fused trio of Blood Rave, Count Back From Zero and a camp horror delight called Love At First Bite, the latter perhaps a follow-up to 2022’s slinky Werewolf. Forget breakdowns, suddenly it’s all electronics, synths and '80s-approved chorus-making.
Kooky fun it might be, but Motionless In White do this uncannily well, and Decades is quite simply a celebration of all they do best.
Verdict: 4/5
For fans of: Bring Me The Horizon, Pierce The Veil, Spiritbox
Decades is out July 17 via Roadrunner
