MOTIONLESS IN WHITE 'Decades'

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE
Decades
Roadrunner Records

Somewhere in the back corner of an old video store sits a dusty VHS box that looks like it has been waiting for me since 1987. The cover is ridiculous in all the right ways: a blood-red moon hangs over the Sunset Strip, a leather-clad vampire leans against a motorcycle, and a werewolf with glowing eyes stands in enough artificial fog to bankrupt the machine-rental company. You already know the practical effects are going to be questionable, at least one character will make a terrible decision, and the artwork probably cost more than half the movie. You rent it anyway because sometimes those are the films that become cult classics. That has always been how I have seen MOTIONLESS IN WHITE. I was not there from the very beginning. I found the band a few albums into its career because my middle son was already a diehard fan, and once he pulled me into their world, I never really left. Over the years, I have watched them evolve, refine their sound, and become one of the few modern bands capable of combining Metalcore, Industrial music, Gothic theatrics, massive Rock choruses, and ’80s horror synthesizers without sounding like they are wearing somebody else’s costume. Some longtime fans will always argue that the band has changed too much. I hear something different. I hear musicians who kept the monsters, darkness, emotion, and scars but learned how to put them on a much bigger screen. Decades is not simply a celebration of twenty years. It feels like the lights going down for another midnight showing.

The opening scenes make it clear that MOTIONLESS IN WHITE is not interested in quietly looking backward. “Decades” kicks the door open with CHRIS MOTIONLESS and company, reminding everyone that they are still fucking here. This is not a band trying to rebuild its legacy because that work has already been done. There is no tombstone in sight, and the title track sounds more like a warning than a victory lap. The riffs hit hard, the Industrial layers grind underneath everything, and Chris still knows exactly when to unleash one of those signature “bleghs” that has made him one of the undisputed kings of that very specific Metal punctuation. “log_in//crash_out” keeps the machinery moving with a sound that could have lived comfortably during the Disguise era. The programming adds atmosphere without swallowing the guitars, while Chris moves between harsh vocals and polished cleans with the confidence of somebody who understands exactly where his voice belongs. Then “R.I.P.” changes the lighting and allows the emotional weight to settle over the room. It lands like the last shovel of dirt hitting a grave. SKYLAR GREY does not arrive as a gimmick or simply another recognizable name to place on the album sticker. She adds another layer of grief to a song that was already carrying plenty of it. Whether this is the version of MOTIONLESS IN WHITE every older fan wants or not, it shows exactly why the band continues reaching listeners outside the traditional Metalcore audience without abandoning its identity. Well played, MIW.

“Love at First Bite” leans completely into the supernatural romance that has always existed inside the world of MOTIONLESS IN WHITE. Beneath the blood, fangs, and darkness is a story about loyalty, sacrifice, and finding the “one person” worth walking into the shadows for, even when the rest of the world says that love should never exist. Some people may hear vampires and werewolves. I hear a little Lucian and Sonja, two people who were never supposed to love each other but chose each other anyway. My wife will know exactly why that made me smile. “Fight Like Hell” follows with the groove, hook, and kind of polished chorus modern MOTIONLESS IN WHITE writes almost effortlessly. I like the song; but after the intensity and emotion of the opening run, it feels as though the movie pauses long enough for everyone to catch their breath and refill their popcorn. Do not get too comfortable, though, because “Playing God” has you covered. Good day, Mr. Taylor, I have officially gotten the fuck up. COREY TAYLOR and CHRIS MOTIONLESS were made for a song like this. Neither vocalist overshadows the other, and neither sounds like he is patiently waiting for his turn. They feed off each other’s aggression and create one of the biggest moments on the album. The song takes aim at toxic internet culture, self-appointed judges, and people who somehow believe they are qualified to control everyone else’s reality, all while its breakdown becomes exactly the kind of moment social media will replay until the algorithm dies. That irony is either perfect or proof that we are all trapped inside Brainscan. Much like that wonderfully strange 1994 movie, truth, manipulation, and entertainment begin bleeding together until nobody knows what is real anymore.

Once the dust settles, “All That I’ve Ever Known” brings the band’s evolution back into focus. MOTIONLESS IN WHITE has figured out exactly how much of every ingredient belongs in the mix: enough breakdown to keep the floor moving, enough melody to make the chorus stay with you, and enough ’80s horror-film synth to make it feel like neon reflecting off wet pavement, while something with claws watches from the alley. It is catchy without becoming soft and nostalgic without becoming trapped in the past. “Blood Rave” has the groove, rhythm, and a guest appearance from DARK DIVINE that makes perfect sense on paper. I have returned to it several times because I kept thinking I had somehow missed the moment that would make everything click. It never came. I do not dislike the song, and I will not skip it while listening to the album, but it probably will not make my everyday playlist. “Count Back From Zero” is the track that gave me the most trouble. The buildup suggests something huge is coming, and then the “Drop it!” callout arrives without the energy it desperately needs. That should have been the moment the floor dropped out from underneath the song, but instead it feels like the practical effect failed to fire on cue and the actors just kept going. Ironically, the closing moments finally deliver more intensity than the section intended to be the payoff. Maybe it will grow on me with additional listens, but for now, we can drop it.

Just when I started wondering whether the middle of the record had become the filler section, “Blood Pact” pulled me back in. My first reaction was not promising, but the chorus lands, the detuned groove starts doing damage, and the chuggy-chuggy riffs remind me that sometimes a song does not need to reinvent the wheel. It simply needs to hit the right nerve at the right time. “Afraid of the Dark” may be the song that best explains what this band was and what it has become. The opening verse reaches toward the older, more aggressive version of MIW before Chris moves into the soaring clean vocals and enormous melodies that define the band today. Those two sides do not fight each other; they complete the picture. The song feels rooted in perseverance, sacrifice, and the question of how much someone is willing to endure for the thing they believe in. That is not only the story of this album. It could be the story of MOTIONLESS IN WHITE’s entire career. “Sunglasses at Night” should not work as well as it does, but do not judge me, I absolutely want to hear this one live. Covers are dangerous. Some bands follow the original so closely that there is no reason for the new version to exist, while others change so much that the song loses what made it special. MOTIONLESS IN WHITE avoids both traps. They do not simply perform COREY HART’s song; they drag it into their universe until the darkness, emotional armor, hidden intentions, and Industrial atmosphere feel completely natural. It does not replace the original it earns its own place beside it.

Then “Hollywood” turns on the neon and finally reveals where this entire movie has been taking place. Reading the lyrics while listening to Chris sing, I could see everything I have ever imagined the Sunset Strip to look and feel like; cigarette smoke rolling out of club doors, leather jackets beneath flickering signs, rain on the pavement, broken dreams, bad decisions, and one more kid convinced tonight might be the night everything changes. Chris does not simply sing the song; he gives the entire setting an emotional pulse. It is another example of MOTIONLESS IN WHITE embracing the ’80s without becoming a nostalgia act. You could drop this band into 1987, place them onstage inside the Whisky a Go Go, and nobody would question whether they belonged there. The synths, guitars, attitude, and theatrical presentation all fit, but it still sounds unmistakably like MOTIONLESS IN WHITE. It is also the kind of song I could imagine blasting through 105.5 KNAC while somebody cruised toward the Strip with the windows down, volume up, and absolutely no idea what the night had waiting for them. You could hand this band the soundtrack to some forgotten B-movie about vampires, werewolves, and bad decisions, and they would probably become the reason everybody remembered the film. The deluxe edition also gives “Fight Like Hell” another opportunity, and surprisingly, I think this alternate version is better than the original. The guest vocalist changes the personality of the track and makes the ‘flow-driven’ verses feel more natural. That rhythmic delivery never completely fits Chris for me on the album version, but here everything clicks. The guest handles that cadence while Chris is allowed to focus on the vocal approach that suits him best. It reinforces something I never expected to say when I started listening: the guest appearances are one of this album’s greatest strengths. COREY TAYLOR adds aggression, SKYLAR GREY adds heartbreak, DARK DIVINE fits the atmosphere, and the alternate “Fight Like Hell” proves that the right voice can completely change how a song lands. They are well chosen, well played, and well placed!

Overall, Decades is an exceptional album. It has a few hiccups, but very few records make it from beginning to end without one scene you would trim or one effect you wish had landed harder. Older fans will find enough aggression, darkness, and horror to remind them why they entered this world in the first place. Fans who arrived during the middle years will hear the Industrial weight and balance between heaviness and melody that helped define the band’s evolution. Newer listeners will find massive choruses, emotional songs, polished production, and guest appearances capable of bringing people in from outside the usual crowd. “R.I.P.” could easily reach more mainstream listeners, while “Playing God” and the heavier moments make sure the longtime faithful still have something to tear the room apart to. I do not hand out perfect scores often, and I understand the contradiction in giving a perfect score to an album after pointing out moments that did not fully work for me. A perfect score does not always mean every second is flawless. Sometimes, it means the complete experience accomplished exactly what it was set out to do. I have listened to Decades multiple times, and every time the credits started rolling, I wanted to press play again. Even the songs that did not completely connect, never made me reach for the skip button. Go see MOTIONLESS IN WHITE live! Buy the album. Pick up the deluxe vinyl! Step into the world they have spent twenty years building! The neon is still burning, the monsters are awake, and MOTIONLESS IN WHITE is nowhere near ready for the closing credits!

They came for the blood, stayed for the neon, and left nothing alive but the soundtrack!

Make it a Blockbuster Kind of Night: 5.0 Out Of 5.0

Stay Safe. Stay Metal. And remember to Always Rewind!