A NEW ERA OF DARKNESS AND EVOLUTION: MOTIONLESS IN WHITE SHARE NEW ALBUM ‘DECADE’
ALBUM REVIEW | MOTIONLESS IN WHITE – DECADE by Chris Watt
It’s been four years since Scoring The End of the World, and now Motionless In White are back with their seventh studio album, DECADES. Released on July 17th through Roadrunner Records, this album opens a new chapter for the Pennsylvania metalcore band as they celebrate twenty years together.
The name DECADES sums up the band’s journey so far. Since its start in 2006, Motionless In White has carved out a unique place in heavy music by blending metalcore, industrial sounds, gothic style, horror themes, electronic touches, and catchy hooks. Frontman Chris Motionless says this album looks back at their past while also breaking new creative ground.
While many anniversary albums focus on nostalgia, DECADES honours the band’s legacy and shows how much they’ve grown since albums like Creatures and Infamous. The record draws from every part of their career, mixing the raw energy of their early days with the polished songwriting they have now.
Produced by Drew Fulk and former band member Justin DeBlieck, the pair helped the band create a sound that’s both heavy and cinematic. Their production brings together strong guitars, electronic elements, and the dramatic, theatrical style that defines Motionless In White.
The album’s landmark lead single, ‘Afraid of the Dark‘ which came out in January 2026, becoming their first number one on the Billboard Hot Hard Rock Songs chart. Blending soaring melodies, industrial production, and massive choruses, the lyrics focus on facing uncertainty and embracing the unknown, setting a triumphant mood for a band entering its third decade.
The next single, ‘Playing God‘ (featuring Corey Taylor of Slipknot), is easily the heaviest song on the release. Taylor’s guest vocals elevate an already fierce track, seamlessly blending djent riffs, nu-metal rhythms, and gritty textures. Lyrically, the song targets online outrage culture and social media toxicity, reaching a peak during a breakdown where Chris Motionless and Corey Taylor aggressively trade lines. Longtime listeners note that it feels like a real treat and a spiritual follow-up to ‘Soft’ from 2017’s Graveyard Shift.
Shifting toward a more emotional and melodic landscape, ‘All That I’ve Ever Known‘ evokes the band’s Disguise era. Exploring themes of loss, ageing, and the fading remnants of youth, the track musically bridges the gap between Voices and Masterpiece serving as a vehicle for one of Chris’s finest clean vocal performances to date.
The record then dives into theatrical territory with ‘Blood Rave’ (featuring Anthony Martinez of Dark Divine), which plays out like a horror movie soundtrack. Drawing heavily from vampire themes and ’90s gothic cinema, the track relies on industrial metal and driving dance beats anchored by heavy guitars – a perfect match for fans of Werewolf and Undead Ahead 2. The campy horror aesthetic is fully embraced in ‘Love At First Bite‘ Despite its playful title, the track weaves catchy synth melodies with dark lyrics centred on obsession and toxic relationships, conjuring a unique blend of Necessary Evil and classic gothic rock in the vein of Type O Negative.
A more introspective tone emerges with ‘Count Back From Zero’ a track whose title hints at rebuilding after a collapse. Echoing the album’s overarching themes of survival and reinvention, the music initiates with an electronic atmosphere before swelling into a massive, powerful climax. This is followed by ‘Blood Pact‘, a dark, groove-heavy anthem driven by tribal percussion and down-tuned riffs. Exploring brotherhood and loyalty, the song serves as a testament to the band’s enduring bond after twenty years together, making it a surefire candidate for a fan favourite.
The band throws a wild card into the mix with ‘Sunglasses At Night‘, a dark re-imagining of the ’80s classic by Corey Hart. True to their habit of mixing nostalgia with heavy music, this industrial-metal cover dives deep into synthwave and gothic styles while preserving the iconic original chorus. Rounding out the collection are two distinct bonus tracks. ‘Hollywood‘ offers a cynical critique of fame and celebrity culture, fusing the swagger of Graveyard Shift with the electronic textures of Scoring The End of the World to act as a spiritual sequel to ‘Broadcasting From Beyond The Grave: Death Inc.’
Finally, the alternate version of ‘Fight Like Hell‘ enlists electronic artist Outlier to mutate the original track into an aggressive hybrid of metalcore and EDM, perfectly spotlighting the band’s lifelong love for genre-bending.
Early reactions suggest that Decades comprehensively touches on nearly every era and sonic style of Motionless In White. It seamlessly weaves together the dark, gothic, and industrial tones that defined Infamous, the infectious melodies found throughout Disguise, and the massive hooks characteristic of Scoring The End of the World, all while channeling the raw, driving energy that originally marked their debut album, Creatures.
Few modern metal bands have built such a loyal fan base while staying both successful and creative. Motionless In White started as a local Scranton metalcore band and have become international festival headliners, all while keeping the dark style and outsider feel that first attracted fans. DECADES isn’t just about looking back, it’s more of a promise for what’s ahead.
After twenty years, Motionless In White shows no signs of slowing down, continuing to evolve their sound and influence in heavy music. Chris Motionless called the album a blend of the band’s “past, present, and future,” and the tracklist really shows that ambition. If Scoring The End of the World was the soundtrack to the apocalypse, DECADES is the band looking at the world they’ve helped shape and building something even bigger.
DECADES by Motionless In White is OUT NOW.
