Motionless In White // Disguise

Published by PecksMetalPicks on June 10, 2019June 10, 2019

Motionless In White’s new album titled ‘Disguise’ is my favorite thing they’ve made since ‘Creatures’. Considering how amazing ‘Creatures’ was, I was disappointed when they turned away from metalcore to focus more on the industrial metal/ Marilyn Manson sound. I had almost completely stopped listening to their new music, but ‘Disguise’ is really getting me back into them.

Of course my favorite songs are the heaviest ones. “Undead Ahead 2” is a follow-up to a song off ‘Creatures’ and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t smile when I heard Chris scream “THIS PLACE IS HAUNTED” again. I love MIW’s spooky, Halloween style songs and the way they blend the chorus in is awesome. “Thoughts and Prayers” is going to be another fan favorite for its fast-paced opening and constant intensity.

The title track is a great example of how they’ve combined styles. It’s a modern take on metalcore with slight industrial influences and I think this is where MIW’s new material shines the brightest. The real key is how catchy and well integrated the chorus is; that’s always been important for these guys because it gives such a good contrast to the heaviness.

A lot of this album’s success comes from how well it fuses their soft and heavy sides. Listening to “Headache”, I can’t tell what to expect from each section and that level of versatility is what elevates this album. On top of that, it feels like they’re finally staking out a corner of the music scene for themselves and have broken out of the Marilyn Manson copycat identity that they gave themselves.

“Another Life” sounds like it could have been on video games like MX vs. ATV or Tony Hawk’s Underground and </c0de> sounds like the Linkin Park song at the end of that one Transformers movie. Even though these new sounds are pretty mainstream, they don’t feel as forced as the industrial metal influences and that’s more clear than ever after listening to how out of place “Broadcasting From Beyond The Grave” sounds.

Overall, I didn’t expect MIW to make such a strong comeback and my hope in a long-time favorite is starting to be restored. I can finally say I’m excited to see what they do next.