This past weekend Motionless in White returned to New York City to headline the Beyond the Barricade tour, bringing along friends For Today, New Years Day and Ice Nine Kills. This was the second sold out show at Irving Plaza and the crowd reflected that, coming out in their most interesting garb to thrash about to the Pennsylvania natives.
Motionless in White is one of those bands that can have a very specific looking fan; all black everything, leather and spikes, pale white makeup to match lead singer Chris “Motionless” Ceruli, a style very synonymous of the stereotypical Marilyn Manson look. It’s something that I appreciate about metal and bands like Motionless in White, the fan base is dedicated, and dressing up allows a sort of escapism that entices fans.
Opening the evening was Ice Nine Kills, hailing from Boston, Mass. The band’s whose name comes from Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle. Lead singer Spencer Charnas started their set off guns blazing with “Connect the Cuts” and continued with a charged set mostly sampling their most recent release, 2013’s The Predator Becomes the Prey. While their time on stage was short, it was certainly memorable, with Spencer’s dark and theatric stage presence. The band moved fast through a total of five songs, stopping briefly midway to ask the fans to light the room with their lighters and cell phones for “Me, Myself and Hyde” their newest single. The band’s instrumentation as a whole was really tight and strong, impressing me as my first time seeing them and a new fan.
New Years Day clearly had the female support in the room when they took to the stage; the screams as singer Ash Costello could have your ears ringing alone. The sass she gives when she spits out her lyrics match her strut across the stage. For such a little girl, she really owns the place. While I wasn’t familiar with a lot of their songs prior to the show, I really enjoyed “Death of the Party,” as well as their closing song, “Defame Me.” The music was definitely heavy but fun to dance to at the same time. The highlight of their set was probably when Chris Motionless came out to join the band to sing his part on “Angel Eyes” off of their Victim to Villain album. You can check out New Years Day all summer on the Vans Warped Tour.
For Today was the direct support for Motionless, a Christian metalcore group from Iowa. Their set was primarily based on their most recent album Fight the Silence, which has hit the top of the charts in both the US hard rock and Christian categories. Opening with their hit “Break the Cycle” the pit absolutely erupted. There is nothing these guys bring more of than energy. Singer Mattie Montgomery puts so much heart in his performances; you can tell that he’s genuine in what he does and that’s something I can appreciate. While I do like their music, I have a hard time watching their live performances. Being a Christian group, Montgomery does take a significant amount of time out of their performance to speak the word of god and tell his story of coming to the church. While I am not against any religions, and I am a firm believer of every person’s freedom of speech, it is something that I do not feel comfortable with in the setting of a concert. I would probably not attend another for today show unless it were to see other bands of interest. If they spend a little more time playing music and a little less time talking I think it would be a different story.
Soon it was time for the lights to dim, the candles to be lit and for Motionless in White to take to the stage. The set began with bass player Devin “Ghost” Sola, appearing in a slipknot-esque mask wielding a chainsaw; nothing too out of the ordinary for this band. Opening with “Death March” it was clear that it was going to be a wild show. Spanning all three of their albums over a 14 song set, there was no hit gone unplayed. One of the only song selections that I would say I was disappointed with was that only two songs of the puppet trilogy were performed (The First Snow and Grand Finale). There were quite a few collaborations throughout the set; Ash Costello of New Years Day joined Chris to sing Maria Brink’s (of In this Moment) part in “Contemptress” and Spencer of Ice Nine Kills sang on “Abigail” much to my surprise.
I was also pleasantly surprised to hear their cover of Rammstein’s “Du Hast” so seamlessly into their set. I’ve seen Motionless perform once before at Warped Tour, but seeing them in a dark and eerie setting at night added so much to the ambiance of their music. Closing out the night with “Devil’s Night,” they were greeted by members of New Years Day equipped with silly string, streamers and balloons, as it has neared the end of the Beyond the Barricade Tour. You can check out Motionless in White this summer opening for Slipknot.
As I write this, resting my sore throat and aching muscles, I can assure you that every bump and bruise was worth the amazing experience. Motionless in White put on such a phenomenal stage show that I’m so glad I was introduced to their music, I highly recommend everyone give them a listen. Everyone needs a little walk on the dark side some days.
