"Creatures" - Motionless In White

Thank god for Entertainment or Death.

If it wasn't for the EOD tour and its stop in Columbia, I wouldn't have gotten to hear Motionless in White. And, considering that in the all of two and a half days since the show I've become hooked, I would have never known how much I was missing out on! One of the great things about the tour, though, was early access to MIW's new album, "Creatures," which drops officially tomorrow. I've listened - and listened, and listened, and listened - to this album, and MIW definitely didn't disappoint. I'm digging it all, right down to the album art (it reminds me of Tim Burton, but that could be a reverse effect). This six-piece (which is unusual in itself, but they have a keys player - Josh Balz - and a lot of modern bands lack that) certainly deserves the attention I guarantee they'll get following this killer album. Passionate, angry screams are backed with by intense instrumentals on all sides, but easily transfer to clean vocals backed by easier melody, demonstrating that Motionless in White is more than just a group of angry young people - they're a genuinely talented, deserving group of musicians.

I can't choose a favorite, but some of these songs really do just stick with you. My top three are probably...

"We Only Come Out at Night" - Pulled from their EP When Love Met Destruction, this track starts off with a quote from Bela Lugosi in Dracula. There is no better possible way to start off a song that's got vampire Halloween undertones. (That does not mean you should all go write a song about vampires and start with that. It will not make it good.) Being a huge classic horror fan, that start made this track an insta-favorite. More than that, though, the chorus just stays in my head. It's really good. Reading over comments from other listeners, I'm not alone.
"Puppets (The First Snow)" - This track hold my favorite lyric of the entire album. The line "I've never had the words to say, but I can quote them all" resonates in a beautifully poetic way, because I'm one of those people who seems to have a song for every occasion, but I can never put it quite as right as someone already has. Chris, beautifully said!
"Scissorhands (The Last Snow)" - YES. When I saw these guys in Columbia, they opened with the Edward Scissorhands theme music. So what better way to end the album than with a song about the classic film? I think I would have loved this song even if I'd never heard it, but the fact is, like everything else on this album, it's incredible.

Aside from my tops, songs such as "Abigail" (one that was shouted for by many members of the crowd) and "London in Terror" are incredible. The chanting in "Count Choculitis" is killer. Each word pounds through you, and leads into a GREAT song. I think you just have to love the title track, "Creatures," because, as it says in the album booklet, "all lyrics [were] written and submitted by fans". How many bands can say that? I find that totally awesome of the MIW boys.

So, to Chris, Angelo, Balz, TJ, Ryan, and Ricky: Well-fucking-done.

And to my readers: Get the fucking album. It's worth it. Don't believe me, listen at the band's YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/motionless1234.

You can also check out the band on
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MIWband
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/motionlessinwhite
or see my interview with Chris at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LltW0EWRaGo


Mari
marissa.billiet@hotmail.com
http://twitter.com/musiccrit
http://youtube.com/musiccritmari
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