ALBUM REVIEW: Decades – Motionless In White
Modern metalcore icons, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, are back with their newest record Decades. It’s been four years since their last album, a wait that was well calculated on that band’s part according to frontman, Chris Motionless, who stated that they wanted to take their time with creating their next record. The goal was, in his words, to “write the coolest record”, a feat that’s bold to announce, but a claim that is immediately proven true with the album sat in front of us right now.
Opening things up is the title track where we are immediately greeted by MOTIONLESS IN WHITE’s signature mash of metalcore, electronic rock, and industrial, complete with the larger in life vocals and screams that we’ve come to expect from Chris Motionless. If that hasn’t piqued your interest, then perhaps the fact it’s a bouncy, catchy number with some growls thrown in for good measure. Then blending into the next track, log_in//crash_out, we’re now more focused on the electronic side of things, if you couldn’t guess from the title, we’re listening to something with a heavy focus on futuristic tech sounds, like the sort of thing you’d hear in the background of a dark cyberpunk setting. Oh, and before you can ask, yes, there are solid ‘bleghs’ featured two songs in, and you can expect to hear many more over the course of the record.
A thing that has remained a true factor for MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, outside of their signature industrial sound and ‘bleghs’ is how they like to branch out and explore several genres and themes. We can go from one moment exploring a vampiric love story in Love At First Bite, featuring an organ and several cheesy puns (we’re looking at you “I’m a sucker for a good time”) but we forgive them. The next moment, we’re placed in a dark nightclub with tracks like Blood Rave and All That I’ve Ever Known, the latter of which features a dubstep breakdown, and then we can find ourselves treated to a cover of COREY HART’s Sunglasses At Night that also brings in elements of another 80s track, EURYTHMICS’ Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This).
Other highlights include two of the four features on the record. Playing God, featuring Corey Taylor genuinely sounds like what would happen if SLIPKNOT and MOTIONLESS IN WHITE had a baby that became a badass later on in life. R.I.P. features Skylar Grey who helps to elevate the beautifully vulnerable metalcore ballad of grief and all the emotions that come with it.
A solid record to be sure, but did you truly expect anything less from MOTIONLESS IN WHITE?
Rating: 8/10
Decades is out now via Roadrunner Records.
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