Motionless In White // Creatures
Motionless In White released ‘Creatures’ in 2010 and recently I’ve found myself coming back to it more and more. I’d easily rank it up there with Memphis May Fire’s ‘The Hollow’ and Of Mice & Men’s first album.
‘Creatures’ didn’t quite catapult MIW to the heights of Memphis May Fire or Of Mice & Men, but personally I think it has stood the test of time better. Its greatest strength, and the reason it still sounds so good today, is the duality between the cleans and screams. They were easily one of the heaviest metalcore bands of their time, but Chris’ singing brought an aura of positivity that complimented the darkness.
Looking back ten years later, a lot of bands’ vocal transitions sound cheesy, but MIW overcame that by keeping the instruments essentially the same regardless of whether Chris was singing or screaming, creating seamless transitions. In fact, the heavy instruments during the singing is one of the reasons the album was so much darker than everything else and it was a key component of their sinister atmosphere.
Instrumentally, this album had a lot more going for it than most bands did in 2010. Actually, it still has more going for it than most bands today. I got excited hearing Currents put some blast beats in their 2018 EP, but MIW was already doing something similar in 2010, and then added high screams on top of it. Most impressively, they kept the tempo up throughout the entirety of their songs and didn’t stick to generic song structures.
Chris’ vocals were underappreciated at the time. His cleans, especially when paired with the keyboard sections, are hauntingly melodic. He also had a crazy screaming range and, despite his lows getting more attention, he introduced a lot of people to high screams in metalcore. His versatility can’t be underestimated; he’s the reason I can listen to this album on repeat.
Another highlight is the album’s spooky atmosphere. Featuring songs about witches, zombies, and all things Halloween, ‘Creatures’ explored the darkness within and presented a unified front from start to finish. It’s one of the best examples of an album that was executed with a clear vision, and even though the songs aren’t directly connected, it’s clear that they all belong together. It also helped MIW become a band for fans who felt different or out of place to unite behind.
Unfortunately this was MIW’s only true full length metalcore album and they proceeded to include more industrial influences on their future release before fully adopting Marilyn Manson’s sound. ‘Creatures’ may not receive as much credit, but I have no doubt that in another ten years it will be regarded as one of the most timeless albums to come out of metalcore’s golden era.
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