w/ Alpha Wolf and After the Burial
The Factory has become the “it” venue to play in our town. For so long it was Fubar and then the Pageant, but this venue just outside of the 270 loop has become a must-play for tours across all genres. That said – I wasn’t surprised that Motionless in White would eventually play there. I knew they were working on raising up their production level to really bring a robust show for their fans celebrating their sixth major release. Formed in 2006 in Scranton, PA the group has continued to grow in terms of skill, sound, and theatrics and this “Touring the End of the World” round was definitely an attempt to jump quite a bit higher.
The venue was sold out and it had to be bordering on over sold. It took absolutely forever to park and then enter the venue, causing us to miss openers Alpha Wolf and After the Burial. I was bummed because I’d looked forward to the heaviness of each band. I went far stage left almost securing myself to a wall just prior to Knocked Loose taking the stage. I’m a newer fan of their music but I have several friends who are old school fans and not one has left a show without some type of injury. That should make people afraid but in this world of people at concerts just filming to capture content, I was excited to see fans enjoying the bands and giving back the energy the members work tirelessly for.
NOT DISAPPOINTED! This band f’ing brought it!!! Their latest release “Deep in the Willow” is a three-and-a-half-minute song climaxing to a scream of “Knocked Loose Mother******!” Fans screamed and moshed the entire set. After a few songs, I crept upstairs like the senior citizen I am to watch what looked like legitimate tornado cells of circle pits breaking out in various sections of the floor. Fronted by vocalist Bryan Garris, guitarists Isaac Hale and Nicko Calderon, bassist Kevin Otten, and drummer Kevin Kaine, this Kentucky metalcore/hardcore punk band commanded the attention and participation of all. Rounding out their dozen songs were three bangers: “Billy No Mates,” “Counting Worms,” and “Everything is Quiet Now.” (It was not.) These songs went even harder than the previous ones, with even more swarms of pits all over and many walls of death. The carnage of shoes, shirts, hats, and other clothing littered the floor as the set ended.
Motionless in White wouldn’t be able to match or top that level of insanity, but it’d never be the goal for the band. They have always varied their supporting acts to offer a range of musicality that they appreciate, not bands that mirror their own sounds. But they don’t go too soft too often either. Scoring the End of the World is their latest album, written and recorded in the dire midst of the pandemic and one major tragedy. They didn’t drift far from their industrial metal roots, but the emotion in this album was most definitely the result of feeling like the world was surely ending. “Meltdown” and “Sign of Life” don’t need too much explanation if you’re envisioning a post-apocalyptic/pandemic world. Lochie Keough of Alpha Wolf joined the band for “Immaculate Misconception” which was released in 2018 and not on too many setlists for the band overall.
The guys not only gave us visual graphics and lights and pyro but they gave us four kick-ass female dancers from performance artists the Cherry Bombs, which is founded and led by Slipknot/Stone Sour front man Corey Taylor’s wife. Alicia Taylor and the gals added beautiful visuals, more pyro, incredible costuming, and an overall spectacular addition for the hard rock/metal show. Off the new album is a tribute piece to the greatest Halloween song of all time, “Thriller.” “Werewolf” finds Chris Motionless vocalizing as a modern-day monster in a red jacket with zippers everywhere and the Cherry Bombs join as his female equivalents.
The tour created excitement with Knocked Loose joining Motionless in White on tour as their most hardcore song to date “Slaughterhouse” features Bryan Garris from KL. It’s also a song that Chris Motionless wrote in the early days of the George Floyd tragedy. The inequality of every line screams words like “fascist” and “pigs” and how people are all but scraps on the floor as hunks of meat. Part of me also suspects a dual meaning, as the vocalist is a devout vegan, so there’s quite a bit of overlap in metaphors that could equally apply. But sadly, for this show Garris wasn’t feeling well after his set so the duet was just a solo performance.
Bassist Justin Morrow towers over the stage like a more animated version of Lurch and has fitting in nicely as the newest member of the band (coming from horror metal staple Ice Nine Kills). Drummer Vinny Mauro, though, has really shown the most growth over the shows I’ve attended. He has elevated his skill and his level of playing, and the band’s sound would be so ineffective without his growth. Of all of the times I’ve seen this band, this was the strongest performance, with the best lighting and stage production and the broadest range of song choices. I can NOT wait for what they do next. | Diane Ruff
