After postponing their intimate “Beyond The Barricade” tour last year, Motionless In White finally returned to the UK in late January. Rock Sins caught the band on their second sold out show at the Underworld, here’s what went down.
Silent Screams (5) play the kind of generic Metalcore you’ve heard hundreds of times before. It’s not awful but it’s so uninspiring. Nearly every riff and breakdown feels borrowed from another band. Still their vocalist is undeniably impressive, it’s just a shame that he’s performing such forgettable material.
New Years Day (4) were more memorable but for entirely the wrong reasons. Their vapid pop rock and goth image feels so forced and manufactured it’s almost insulting. It isn’t surprising that a lot of the young crowd love every second of this set as New Years Day just seem to tick every box that might appeal to young fans of rock music. There isn’t a hint of originality to New Years Day and whilst their lyrics try to make them sound dark and edgy the music is just toothless. An appearance from Chris Motionless is a brief high point but it isn’t enough save this set.
Finally Motionless In White (8.5) arrived to deafening screams before kicking into the industrial stomp of “Death March”. The band definitely focus on their latest album tonight to mixed results. “Puppets 3” does a great job of showing how diverse Motionless In White can be with it drawing more from black metal and is an early high point. Whereas songs like “Generation Lost” and “Dead As Fuck” end up being the real low points of the set with their cringeworthy lyrics. Still this is all in an attempt to play a different setlist for the fans who came to the previous nights sold out show as well. Chris Motionless is on fantastic form tonight both vocally and in terms of his stage presence, he does drift dangerously to being a bit too cheesy at points but he is certainly entertaining. A surprise cover of “Du Hast” midway through the set is a nice treat and the majority of the room is incredibly happy to see New Years Day’s Ash Costello return to the stage for “Contemptress”. Unfortunately the momentum does dip towards the end as they play the previously mentioned weaker material from Reincarnate but this is the only real issue with tonight’s set. “Immaculate Misconception”, “Sinematic” and “Scissorhands” close out the main set nicely before the band return to perform “Reincarnate” leaving everyone incredibly satisfied.
