Damn, it feels good to be right (Motionless in White - Infamous Review)

      

Well, the moment is finally upon us. After months of hype, two singles, multiple studio updates, and a glaring leak a month previous, the new Motionless in White record was released earlier this week. I've talked about the Pennsylvania makeup-friendly group in the past - when they were announced as one of Warped's headliners this summer (alongside Blessthefall and Sleeping With Sirens) and last week going into the release of Infamous, their third studio album (there is a mistake on the former post that lists Creatures as MIW's first. It's their second). But now the golden moment is upon us, and, if you can't read from the title, everything I was expecting from the band came true.

         The band's transformation from originality to imitation is almost complete - Creatures' sound is basically going to stay on that record. Infamous decided to tone up the synth on at least half the album, transforming it from metalcore into Marilyn Manson. Now, I have nothing against Manson, but I've never been too fond of his music. It just isn't my first choice of listening material. Transformation is inevitable, and in some case welcomed, but unfortunately for MIW, this falls flat. Mostly for exactly the reasons I said going into Infamous  - Manson has been playing with and refining this sound for years, since before MIW had even formed.
           The result is an eclectic mashup of weak hooks, weaker riffs, and vocals that seem to be determined to mimic Marilyn Manson at any cost. The introductory track 'Black Damask (The Fog)' is, admittedly, rather cool to listen to as it features an eerie piano until launching into an energetically metalcore sound, but the rest of the record fares less well. The introduction to 'A-M-E-R-I-C-A' involves a bloopy synth as Chris Motionless drawls into a microphone about consumerism that instantly made me think 'Beautiful People'. 'Hatefuck', lyrically and sonically, sounds almost exactly like 'sAINT'.

            Rounding off the cast of imitations are the two singles that were released before - 'Devil's Night' and 'If It's Dead We Kill It' - and two of the record's best hitters - 'Puppets 2 (The Rain)' (which I swear features Matt Heafy of Trivium) and 'Burned at Both Ends'.  What makes these songs the best? Because they didn't completely trash the metalcore-y sound of Creatures. The synth is downplayed (for MIW songs, which means you can barely hear anything over it), and there's an angrier feel to them that makes them all in all far more palatable for someone who has never really been into Marilyn Manson and his derivatives.
          That, and the lyrics are a return to some of the best MIW has to offer. Emotional, yet blistering, with lines like 'Is there a future when you only see in memories? When every loss, every beauty just reminds you of the past, how can you just let go?' contrasted with 'Strip the world and paint it fucking black, now what have you become? You once felt like home, now you're just a ghost in the fog'. There seems to be a recurring lyrical theme of anti-materialism and a rejection of the superficial that's been common to MIW in the past. In Infamous, the band deals with the long-term effect of being shallow - 'If It's Dead We Kill It' concerns itself with models and the fashion industry. Even with the more Manson-esque songs, the band still shows they're talented lyricists. It's a pity the instrumentals just don't hold up.
       This is primarily because it feels like the band has been constantly trying to evolve. With every progressive record, the band has undergone rapid changes - their first EP was completely organic, for example - and while they may have passed their peak, there is still room to return to form. With Creatures' sound not completely eschewed, and the fact that Infamous hasn't quite received the same reception Creatures did, it's fairly obvious what was a better sound.
       Bottom line, despite sharing a name with the catastrophically awful Abandon All Ships album released this year, MIW's take on a record called Infamous is a great example of what happens when you try to change too fast, and your ego starts to play a part. It's not a complete failure, but for the record, I only liked about a quarter of the album.
        Motionless in White have begun touring with Chelsea Grin, Upon this Dawning, and some band called the Witch Was Right from late November into mid-December as part of the Infamous tour.