February 2023 Feature Release - The Gateway Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month's feature release for The Gateway, nominated by me (Shadowdoom9 (Andi)), is last year's 6th full album from Pennsylvania-based alternative/industrial/metalcore band Motionless in White, Scoring the End of the World. The recent alternative/nu metal sound continues building up in prominence for their latest album, though not without some metalcore and industrial metal songs to secure its Gateway/Revolution/Sphere triptych. Scoring the End of the World is for anyone willing to explore the more modern genres in a horror-themed blend, and it would be an interesting addition to Metal Academy discussion.

https://metal.academy/releases/37516

I did my review, here's its summary:

Motionless in White has been in the modern metal zone since the 2010s. They're one of my favorite bands to cover 3 of my current clans, though they probably would've been too dark for me 6 years before this review, when I wasn't fully into the genres they cover. They've made a really solid and relevant run from Creatures to Graveyard Shift, though Disguise was slightly more alt-metal focused. They started their current path through industrial metalcore around Infamous and Reincarnate, and what could top the former album being my favorite alongside Creatures? And will they continue the throwback while unleashing the emotions they've had in the period after Disguise? With the early 2020s insanity of the virus going, the band have more courage to unleash their emotions to the world. Once again securing the multi-track triptych, you can find many different styles in the songs, including cinematic metalcore, epic electro-industrial metal, glorious heavy alt-metal, and a couple powerful power ballads. You can also find a few guest vocalists including Bryan Garris of Knocked Loose, Lindsay Schoolcraft former vocalist of Cradle of Filth, Caleb Shomo of Beartooth and formerly Attack Attack!, and the legendary Mick Gordon. All in all, Scoring the End of the World has proven to be amazing comeback for the band after a slight decrease in quality in Disguise. Many of the tracks will satisfy open-minded listeners, though not every track is highly likeable. Scoring the End of the World has the band's dynamic strength in fresh quality!

4.5/5

Recommended tracks: "Meltdown", "Werewolf", "Slaughterhouse", "Masterpiece", "Burned at Both Ends II", "Cyberhex", "Scoring the End of the World"

For fans of: Beartooth, Code Orange, Marilyn Manson

The modern alternative metalcore scene is a hard subgenre to pin down. While it certainly has its modern upsides in Bad Omens and Spiritbox, a lot of them begin to blend together after a while, as many simply latch on to already popular/dead trends hoping to make a quick buck. Motionless in White is one of those bands for me. After attempting to go more alternative with 2014's Reincarnate, they became a band that would release records that get a bunch of acclaim, but are as quickly forgotten about a month later.

Case in point, I did listen to Scoring the End of the World back in June of 2022 and thought it was...fine. Chris Motionless is quite capable when writing well constructed tunes with some decent melodies. And, most important to me, incorporating breakdowns that do not act as an aside from the original concept or idea. But the record is held back considerably by not having any identity of its own. I had to do a double take at first when listening to the chorus of "Sign Of Life" because I thought for certain that Benjamin Burnley was the principal vocalist here.

And while the vocal comparison should not be that big of a deal, when the instrumentals sound like Breaking Benjamin too, that's where I have to draw a line. MiW goes a step further by having "Porcelain" sound like a modern Bullet for my Valentine tune, complete with some industrial/electronic spattering's that, while not offensive, I found to be more than distracting.

Scoring the End of the World has a lot of guest features and those tunes also feature some of the freshest sounds on the record. "Slaughterhouse" with Bryan Garris is a straight rump and serves as a good change of pace and intensity following the slower, more dreary "Porcelain". Then a trifecta of songs at the end of the record, however these tunes are not as enjoyable. starting off with "Cyberhex" sounding closer to a Mick Gordon track than even the title track, which actually features Mick Gordon! And in the middle of those two, we have the Marilyn Manson inspired "Red, White & Boom", which can be cheeky and fun, but I was not really feeling it.

And I think the reason why is because MiW have this long stretch of Breaking Benjamin/Bullet for my Valentine sounding tunes that aren't the most innovative things in the world. Sure they have breakdowns, but a metalcore band has to do more than add breakdowns to pre-existing formulas to make them enjoyable. And then, right at the very end of the album, they throw a curveball and show you something vastly different than what you've heard through the first ten tracks. The pacing of this record is so back heavy that I had less interest in those deviances than if they had been prominently featured early on in the record. Chris Motionless and company may have had some good ideas, but they are few and far between, and the sequencing is not good at all.

6/10