Motionless in White and I have a strange relationship. I find most of their music catchy and fun, but I'll be damned if they aren't one of the silliest bands out there right now. That being said, I need to clarify that I have nothing against the band's aesthetic style. It's a band's choice to dress how they want, and Motionless in White deserve no hate because of how they show up to venues. There. Most of the ire the band faces is directed at that, and even bands as different as Lionheart have stepped up to support MIW:
"...relax. Please don't use our FB wall as a place to shit talk another band just because of how they look. If they wanna wear makeup and dress like they do, then that's THEIR choice. A far as I'm concerned, they're a hard working touring band out there trying to do the same thing we are. MIW isn't my first choice for personal listening, but then again that's the beauty of music; there's literally something for everyone" (Source: http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/lionheart_respond_to_fan_criticism_for_playing_with_motionless_in_white).
My issue with the band mostly comes from their stage presence and sense of importance. What about the band attracts so many fans is completely beyond me, and their obsession with the gothic cements it - a song about Edward Scissorhands? Actually?
I saw the band during this summer's Warped Tour, and their introductory track involved hackneyed haunted-house noises (door creaks. THERE WAS NOT A DOOR IN SIGHT.) and wolf howls. It was one bedsheet ghost away from being Ernest Saves Halloween. That's to say nothing of their chug-friendly, relatively unimaginative compositional skills.
To top it off, lead singer Chris Cerulli (though he goes by Chris 'Motionless' on stage) has a slight messiah complex that comes out in the wincingly offensive video for 'Immaculate Misconception'. Fans of the band are referred to as 'creatures' by the band...and I have yet to see anyone actually call themselves that with regards to being a Motionless in White fan. It seems to me to be largely a case of Worsnop-itis - incredibly high levels of perceived fame that do nothing but bring derision from anyone outside their fanbase. Metal blog Metalsucks has given them the flattering moniker of "Shitstain on the Ass of the Universe" and my friend shook his head and told me that he's 'never met a guy who likes them' when I told him I enjoyed their music.
That being said, I actually find MIW an extremely fun band to listen to. Lyrically, they're one of the most gifted bands to show themselves recently - focusing on something that affects every fan of alternative music at some point - being a reject. As the epitome of 'alternate' themselves, the band offers a unique kind of solace to those who feel spurned or hurt by being different. Nevertheless, their message often never even reaches the ears of would-be fans, who are immediately repelled by their striking visual style.
In any case, it was largely this same Warped run that propelled the band to relative popularity, as their last album Creatures was released two years ago and garnered minimal attention. Now, one summer later, MIW is due to release their second full-length Infamous in November, and have so far released two singles - 'Devil's Night' and 'If It's Dead, We Kill It'.
Let's take a look at each song and its respective lyric video, starting with 'Devil's Night' - Infamous' introductory track. As luck would have it, I was listening to Slipknot's 'Psychosocial' before I decided to put on 'Devil's Night', and when the song changed, I had to make sure iTunes hadn't decided to repeat. The introduction, aside from 'Devil's Night''s heavier synth, was almost identical to Slipknot. But that's not where the comparison ended.
The structure of the entire song was, rhythmically, a more synth-heavy 'Psychosocial'. But without the solo, and some one liners as brilliant as 'That's what you deserve! You fucking fake-ass hypocrite!'. Okay then. Maybe MIW are experimenting with their sound?
I sincerely hope so. The breakdown of 'Devil's Night' sounds like there's a fucking turntable involved. There's hints of an interesting riff, but it's inexplicably hidden behind the omnipresent chug-chug-chug. Lyrically, it's still a Motionless in White song - this time under the guise of a 'you'll never stop us' message. Yeah. Okay.
The video itself is nothing special. The camera travels down a long road while the lyrics flash on screen. During the breakdown, pictures of each band member flash for a few seconds.
Now let's move on to the second single - 'If It's Dead, We Kill It'. Same synth-heavy intro, except the song features Brandan Schieppati from Bleeding Through. Unsurprisingly enough, 'If It's Dead' sounds like Bleeding Through. That being said, it's a much better song - lyrically and instrumentally.
'Devil's Night' didn't know how to tone down the synth, while 'If It's Dead' is more conservative, and plays with song structure far more. There's still a plethora of breakdowns, and studio effects abound, but the drumwork, for one is a step up - if it's sidelined behind the rhythm section. Lyrically, the song is about disregarding standards of beauty, and self acceptance - feeling fulfilled not necessarily by how you look. A good message, better than 'Devil's Night''s stupid premise of 'take us seriously! Look how badass we are'!
The video, on the other hand...is probably the goofiest thing I've ever seen. And it's not funny, it just made me cringe. Hard. The video is a mixture of clips of the band playing live and classic horror films - Nosferatu, The Invisible Man, Phantom of the Opera, those kind. Remember what I said about the band trying to be scary and kinda going overboard? Case in point. Good song, stupid video.
In conclusion, going off of what's been shown to us, Infamous is due to be a mashup of styles, none of which sound quite like Creatures. Exciting? It probably will be for a few days, until we realize the artists MIW is imitating did it better and return to them. The band's forte is still their lyrics - there's still a ways to go with the instrumentals. And they really need to reevaluate their stage presence. There might be one or two tweenage girls who think it's badass, but in a music scene where Black Veil Brides and Snow White's Poison Bite look similar to you, makeup is something you might want to ease up on.
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