Reviews list for Motionless in White - Infamous (2012)

Since their 2010 debut Creatures, Motionless in White has been known as one of the most impressive bands. Their name has been carved in stone thanks to the intense power and imagery of their songs and live performances. They even gained more fans in their audience after a Warped Tour performance. With their rising success, the band has made their sophomore comeback with their 2012 album Infamous!

Back then, Motionless in White still had their famous gothic metalcore sound. What's different is, they started reshaping their sound by adding different influences that would foreshadow their alternative/industrial metal future.

"Black Damask (The Fog)" starts with soft somber piano, then when you least expect it, it switches to an intense head-ripping assault of vocals, guitars, and drums. The chorus is where the expected clean vocals come in greater range than in their debut. The perfect stage-setter! Then the lead single "Devil’s Night" marks the first hint at the different aspects to come, including industrial synths and deeper growling vocals. Chris Motionless' killer vocal abilities also include the usual clean vocals in the chorus alongside guitar melodies. The lyrics motivate you to stand up against those in life ordering you around and not get taken down by them, all in emotional intensity. "A-M-E-R-I-C-A" expands the band's sound yet again. This is more like the gothic industrial metal of Gothminister, especially the deeper cleans in the verses. Michael Vampire of Vampires Everywhere! sings together with Chris in a sing-along gang chorus, one of the best of the genre! That song can definitely reach the hard rock/metal charts. America, F*** YEAH!!!! Next up, "Burning at Both Ends" is filled with dynamic metal, while also greatly melodic.

"The Divine Intervention" sounds close to what Marilyn Manson has done in Antichrist Superstar. A much different style from their earlier metalcore, complete with Chris' vocal range expanding. "Puppets 2 (The Rain)" starts off sounding a bit like brutal death metal. The chorus is sung by Soilwork's Björn Strid alongside the bellowing of Chris. It's clear how much intense passion can be found in these lyrics of storytelling vision. "Sinematic" is the darkest song here, but of course, dark doesn't always mean heavy. Emotional melody from the keyboards, guitars, and vocals, certainly make the atmosphere more cinematic. Chris continues to expanding his clean vocal range, a nice break from the earlier growling. "If It’s Dead, We'll Kill It" is one of the most intense tracks on the album. After a brief look into melodic black metal with the dark synths and vocal shrieks, the guitars and growls of metalcore return, and then another clean chorus. Bleeding Through vocalist Brandan Schieppati steps in with some intense vocals.

"Synthetic Love" has beautiful Orgy-esque industrial nu metal. The synths and large chorus make that song another standout gem. "Hatef***" is another track that sounds much closer to Fear Factory than Hatebreed. "Underdog" stands out as one of the best songs here, almost surpassing that "Puppets" track. There's guitar aggression, synth atmosphere, and vocal aggression throughout. This is a beautiful driving anthem, it's so great! The title track closes the standard edition in a mind-blowing bang. However, I would recommend getting the deluxe edition that includes "Sick From the Melt", a heavy goth industrial metal track that features Eighteen Visions drummer/Combichrist percussionist Trevor Friedrich on vocals. "Fatal" is also pretty good. Then finally, there are 4 remix tracks of the songs "A-M-E-R-I-C-A", "Underdog", and "Sinematic".

Infamous marks the beginning of Motionless in White's brand-new direction. The band has impressed their audience in greater levels. With more mature writing and diverse sound, they broke down more walls than they had before. Their bloodthirsty music and lyrics were written in great effort. Chris Motionless and the gang may not win back longtime fans from this album onwards, but it was worth making a masterpiece to bring in new fans. Still there is the need for longtime fans to keep listening so many times in order to get used to that different sound. This gem shall definitely be heard by fans of modern metal!

Favorites: "Black Damask (The Fog)", "A-M-E-R-I-C-A", "Puppets 2 (The Rain)", "If It’s Dead, We'll Kill It", "Synthetic Love", "Underdog", "Sick From the Melt" (bonus track)