Countdown to Warped - Motionless in White

             

             Once upon a time in the 90s, the Goth movement shocked the mainstream with its unnerving music and equally extreme fashion subculture. Around the world, teens and tweens began dressing in black, powdering their faces white, and subsiding into long fits of melancholic apathy. While today we’d be quick to lump them in with the emo movement, the gothic movement was and remains a separate beast. With a fixation on vampires and the like, followers of the movement were often ridiculed for behaving like twelve-year old girls – and this label would persist and get even worse when books like Twilight were released. Nevertheless, the goth movement has undoubtedly taken a backseat in the rock and metal community, and maintains only a fringe following today. In their place as musical scapegoats have arisen the emos who, because they fight back even less, are far easier to pick on and ridicule.        

In any case, this year’s Warped Tour hasn’t forgotten about the goth movement, and it’s evident in their decision to make Pennsylvania’s Motionless in White one of their most hyped shows. With only a single studio album to their name (2010’s Creatures) and another due out this fall, Motionless in White nevertheless remains a high-profile figure this summer – with frontman Chris Cerulli gracing the cover of AP this month alongside Ronnie Radke and Austin Carlile. Bringing a strikingly different appearance to an event where most bands resemble one another, the Pennsylvania group isn’t afraid to stand out – aesthetically or musically.

                Motionless in White’s sound is the punitive mix of goth and emo rock – with a mixture of low screams, breakdowns, and a lyrical preoccupation with being a reject. Nevertheless, Cerulli’s cleans stand out from the crowd simply because they’re low. As I’ve said before, many bands on Warped this year are defined by their high vocals – Pierce the Veil springs to mind as a key example. Cerulli’s husky tones, which sound similar to Miss May I’s Ryan Neff’s, are unexpected, and thus all the more interesting to listen to. Instrumentally, the band brings a unique form of aggressiveness on songs like ‘Count Choculitis’ and ‘Puppets’ through their great use of contrast, and their interesting role of synths.

                In true goth style, Motionless in White’s synthesizers give songs an orchestral feel most of the time, which, on songs like ‘Abigail’, raise the tension even if they do play a background role, and their few moments of prominence are only a few notes long. An obvious exception is the introduction ‘Count Choculitis’, which, when interwoven with the band’s chanting and heavy chug of the guitar, get the job done nevertheless. The band never lets up on a frenetic, dark sound that gets your blood pumping. Even though fast, palm-muted chords remain the name of the game, Motionless in White are a band to top in terms of sheer energy. Perhaps it’s the feeling of pent-up rage exploding that many songs have, or the idea that at their core, the band’s message is to accept what makes you different and rejoice in it, but Motionless in White’s sound will have pits opening when they play.    

                But, ultimately, the band isn’t completely free of problems. First and foremost, the band takes itself way too seriously. This is a problem that’s visible even before the band starts playing – their frontman has a stage name. That’s right, he’s not Chris Cerulli, but Chris ‘Motionless’. If that didn’t make you cock your head and say, ‘seriously?’, then you’re missing out, because the experience of listening to Motionless in White becomes semi-silly.  The band’s looks don’t help them either – they’ve obviously got some ideals for themselves and are doing their best to fill them, and that comes with a rather large ego that you can see as they tackle fairly heavy topics (not always successfully) in songs like ‘Cobwebs’.

                Ultimately, even though they sometimes fall flat, Motionless in White are a fun listen through that will satisfy the goth movement that’s still around and, as with so many other groups, bring some much-needed variety to this year’s Warped Tour.
                  Listen to 'Abigail' here: