Metalcore has turned into a very touchy subject recently. It’s
surprised me how if a metalcore band isn’t innovative or progressive in SOME
way or another, they get a big “GENERIC SHIT” sticker slapped across their
foreheads before getting the boot from critics. As for me, I’m not a complete
and total hater of the generic and pure metalcore bands; but I won’t disagree
with the fact that there most definitely has been a decrease in quality in the
genre over the past four or so years. When it comes to Motionless in White, in
no way, shape, or form would I consider them progressive or innovative. But I
wouldn’t consider them as being in the melting-pot (they’re probably more like
waist-deep). In other words, Motionless in White is a generic metalcore band with
a unique sound. Some of the sound that you hear in Creatures can be heard in their
debut disaster, When Love met Destruction, but since I don’t like that album
very much at all, Creatures is what I like to talk about when talking about
Motionless in White’s sound.
Probably what most people point out is some of the extremely
dark and crushing breakdowns that can be heard all throughout Creatures. Despite
the truth that those breakdowns really do contribute to the band’s sound, they
really aren’t anything that special. I’m not one that typically compares bands
when criticizing, but I feel that since neither of these bands are looking to
be innovative or progressive, it’s ok. Those of you that are familiar with the
metalcore masters Miss May I know that even though their breakdowns aren’t
totally complex, the amazing instrumental skill from the guitarists and
(especially) the drummer literally max-out the intensity level. So if you
decide to play more generic and simple breakdowns, you NEED to make sure that
you have mind-blowing musicians to make them interesting, catchy, and most
importantly, tight. I don’t hear much of that in any of the breakdowns on this
album. Yeah, the breakdowns on Abigail are pretty impressive, but that’s pretty
much it as far as I can hear. All of the other breakdowns are either sloppy,
boring, overly simple, or just dry and emotionless.
In order to not sound overly harsh, I should say that none
of the musicians sound unexceptional or bad in any way. They all fit the bill
for a metalcore musician and for what Motionless in White’s sound requires.
There is obviously a bassist because when I turn up my subs, I can hear tons of
bass, but the guitars and drums seem to totally cover anything that the bassist
does, which is ANOTHER thing that I have a problem with the majority of
metalcore bands out there. To me, the bassist should do much more than just provide
a lower end for the band’s sound; they need to have a part where they’re
actually playing something beyond the root-notes. And in rock and several other
genres, sticking to the root notes is EXACTLY what the bassist needs to do. But
come ON, this is metal we’re talking about, the most complex genre of music
next to classical and jazz! We need to hear more from the bassist!
Frontman Chris Motionless is who everyone thinks of when
they think about Motionless in White (there are too many bands that have that situation,
it’s fucking depressing). After listening to Creatures over and over and over
and over, there isn’t anything wrong with anything that he does. His deep
mid-ranged screams are very strong and have a great foundation. His growls are
crisp and strong, but I don’t feel that their overly-powerful sound fits the
band’s melodic sound very well. Everyone knows that he has two types of
screams: he has the typical higher-than-usual exhaled screams that are ok, but
not something I would make a big deal over. And then you have these inhuman
shrieks that have been known to cause chills to run down the spines of the
weak-hearted. Even though I’m not a huge fan of those shrieks, they most
definitely stand as a very unique quality for this album. So I don’t like them,
but I like that they’re there (if that makes any sense) because it makes
Creatures that much less boring and predictable. If you want to hear the most
famous (and best) example of this, the last breakdown on my favorite song on
the album, Abigail, has Chris growling deeply and letting out an inhuman shriek
screaming “how could you??”.
Pretty much the only reason (that I can think of) why some people
have labeled Motionless in White as being a “gothic metalcore” band is because they
have an extreme gothic look and that they have some synthesized orchestral
elements in a couple of their songs (i.e. Immaculate Misconception and
Creatures). But I just hear metalcore. So Motionless in White DOES in fact have
some unique qualities, but other than that, there’s not much else that they
have. The fact that their breakdowns don’t have as much effort as I want to
hear makes their music grow dry and tasteless after about six songs or so. The
synthesizers and unique vocals help give you something to look forward too, but
other than that, everything is just average. So all in all, I would only
recommend this to metalheads that like their metalcore to be a bit more on the
heavier side of things. The song Abigail is most definitely worth a listen, I
love it, but the album as a whole gets my score of 12/20 for being an average metalcore
album with a couple unique qualities.
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