Motionless In White Delivers a Hauntingly Brutal Deadstream Sequel at the Infamous Pennhurst Asylum
Throughout this past challenging year, Motionless In White used the extra downtime to explore ambitious musical territories, crafting a special catalogue of material that the band calls their 2020 Quarantine Experiments. The releases include a collaborative effort with Beartooth’s frontman Caleb Shomo to produce a neon remix of their track “Another Life”; two cinematic reimaginings that take the form of the Another Life / Eternally Yours: Motion Picture Collection EP; a hard rock cover track by The Killers; and a synthwave edition of “Voices.” The year 2020 also signified a significant milestone in the band’s career, marking the tenth anniversary since the release of their debut album Creatures. The band commemorated this notable occasion with a special Deadstream event where they performed Creatures in its entirety. The stream was a massive success, a fact that is clearly supported by their SDMA 2021 win for ‘Best Livestream Band.’
As live music now begins to signal a return to some sense of pre-pandemic normalcy, MIW announced their plans to kick off summer 2021 with a Deadstream sequel hosted on the grounds of the infamous Pennhurst Asylum. For those who may be unfamiliar, the Pennhurst Asylum is located in the heart of Spring City, Pennsylvania, which is a 2-hour drive from MIW’s hometown of Scranton. Harboring a gruesome past, it is claimed to be one of the state’s most haunted spots: there are numerous reports that suggest many of the spiritual residents still occupy the estate; this hearsay is further supplemented with tales of strange figure sightings and eerie voices echoing through the building’s dark, empty corridors. While this news may petrify some with fear and make their blood run cold, for Motionless In White, the opportunity to play a rock show on haunted grounds is an ultimate dream come true.
Deadstream #2 began with grainy film-like visuals, a stylistic choice that suitably fits the gritty tone of a horror aesthetic: black-and-white slow-motion sequences depict the band members as they walk down a pathway towards the entrance of Pennhurst Asylum. Everyone is clad in all-black attire, with frontman Chris Motionless and bassist Justin Morrow donning their own individual styles of gothic makeup: pale white face paint, black eyeshadow, and dark smeared lipstick. The group reaches the large chamber doors. Chris lets the others walk ahead of him and he proceeds to slowly pull the barriers together until they come to an abrupt slam. Then nothing but darkness...
Small fire torches light up the asylum grounds. The haunting lullaby intro of “Disguise” suddenly lingers in the air as smoke effects and indigo lights wash over the stage, displaying the band’s silhouettes; the lighting illuminates the members as they prepare to take off. Motionless wastes no time kicking into full force as Chris screams the opening lines “Get up, get up! Fuck!”
Chris then speaks into his microphone, greeting the audience: “To everyone around the world watching, welcome to Pennhurst Asylum!” The ambiance of the stage setup transfixes with its spooky props, featuring one predominant element that immediately captures the eye: a shiny, custom-made skeleton microphone stand. Before the second verse, Chris reaches out and swings force at the stand, the skeleton pivots and spins rapidly, dancing among flashing violet LED strobes. MIW delves into “Reincarnate” next, performing against a backdrop of beautifully sculpted stone angels: “Crawling from hell, fallen from grace, and there is nothing left to take, leaving the past to the grave, so we can reincarnate.”
Before transitioning into the next song of the set, Chris takes a moment to explain how the band wanted to explore the possibilities of another Deadstream before touring makes its comeback and see if they could potentially top their last virtual performance from October. He thanks everyone for their love and support throughout this strange time and acknowledges the immense power of art, which still continues to thrive, despite all of the suffering COVID has caused. Motionless echoes this personal sentiment with “<c0de>” (“We unite to write our code, ‘cause in the company of hope, we don’t have to feel alone”) before frantically storming their way through “Headache.” Chris maniacally wanders around the stage, screaming his way through the brutal chorus before dropping to his knees amid a breakdown, pleading with every ounce of desperation laced in his voice: “Someone say I’m not losing my mind. / I made a deal with the devil inside. / Oh god, I’m gonna be fine...” A special mention goes out to In This Moment’s Maria Brink who usually accompanies the band in the performance of their next track of the night, the ever-alluring “Contemptress.” Chris steps up his vocal game to take on Maria’s contribution to the hypnotic track.
Throughout the night, the camera pans to different angles of the asylum property, displaying an assembly of creaking lanterns hanging across the premises. The stage lights flash, changing colors – red, green, purple – interminably between songs. Props go out to the MIW crew for all of their hard work and dedication; this concert wouldn’t even be possible if not for them. Every detail is immaculate: the theatrical stage layout, lighting rig, and video and audio quality are all top-notch attributes that magnificently bring this show to life. Synchronized headbanging, raging guitar riffs, and guttural growls are abundantly supplied; Chris bares his soul and passion in every song and commands the stage with his fierce presence. Rhythm guitarist Ricky Olson and bassist Justin Morrow contribute stellar vocal deliveries on several tracks – even lead guitarist Ryan Sitkowski lends his backing vocals for his part on “Thoughts & Prayers.” Drummer Vinny Mauro effortlessly guides the ensemble, never missing a beat. The band is more perfectly knit than ever before, and their collective efforts only add more caliber to their performances – this observation is evident even via streaming production.
Motionless know what the people want (“You want a heavy one?!”) and they never disappoint in their delivery: viciously charging through the fiendish “Soft” and sneering “Thoughts & Prayers,” before spiraling into the megalithic “Voice,” which features a rainbow color lighting palette in dedication to the LGBTQ+ community.
Motionless has many surprises in store: the band transports the audience to the past with a throwback to their second full-length record Infamous, reigning with venomous spitfire in their performance of “If It’s Dead, We’ll Kill It.” Another unexpected addition to the setlist is the full live debut of the band’s iconic The Killers cover “Somebody Told Me.” There’s no doubt that this song will instantly blow up as a fan favorite to be performed in a live setting. MIW’s enthralling rendition of “Catharsis” is utterly heartfelt; the synth-heavy ballad spreads a hopeful message about the powerful healing that is found through music: “A sonic liberation / salvation in your headphones… / Catharsis in darkness. / A place to feel the words we sing. / The absence that haunts you, won’t hurt much longer.”
Chris taunts the fanbase with playful banter as he speaks about the process of putting the setlist together and narrowing down the song selections for tonight’s broadcast; he pokes fun at the eternal love for Creatures slow-burner “City Lights” before he announces the direction he took instead: “Fuck ‘City Lights.’ This song is called ‘Sinematic.’”
A somber mood shifts within the atmosphere. Deep blue lights pour over the band as the intro starts – dark guitar melodies are accompanied by stirring keyboards, while the frontman gets a chance to showcase his serene vocal range. The brooding composition steadily builds tension until fury unleashes, as Chris channels all of his raw emotions into gut-wrenching screams: “Now the sky is on fire and we lie wide awake / There is no other way than to make this mistake / We can’t control who we hurt, so we fuck the pain away…”
“Sinematic” takes center-stage as the captivating standout gem of the entire night. Another staple favorite is unveiled with the unruly appearance of “Black Damask (The Fog)” – it completely demolishes everything in its path. MIW winds down with the vulnerable “Another Life” and a final sentiment from Chris Motionless as he declares the final song of the night:
“We are Motionless In White and we are ‘Eternally Yours.’”
Purple and blue lights blaze across the night sky as the power love ballad casts its spellbinding hex. The camera frame cuts over to shots of the band members – this time, the vocalist is now standing atop the balcony – and the full stage setup. In signature Motionless style, Chris holds up a handful of red roses and throws the flowers out to the ‘audience’ as he sings the bridge and closing lines of the song: “And in the name of love / I’m ready to bury all of my bones / I’m ready to lie but say I won’t / So tell me your secrets / And join me in pieces / To rot in this garden made of stones / Eternally yours.”
The band’s closing track was a beautiful, ethereal experience. Once the final notes resound and the MIW credits begin to flash across the screen, there’s an extra treat in store for fans to appreciate: several funny moments are found scattered within the footage, consisting of a brilliant Home Depot remix, a ‘RIP Drone’ condolence message, and a final short clip featuring Chris and Justin. The video shows Chris pulling a funny face and giving a thumbs up, exclaiming “That’s a wrap!” Only for Justin to run up mere seconds later, realizing that he’s too late: “Oh, it’s over?” “Yeah, we already wrapped so..” Justin then makes his quick departure, “See ya!” The guys are all smiles as the recording faded to an end. These little moments really shine a light on the members’ down-to-earth personalities and their boundless appreciation for stupid dad jokes.
Both Deadstream productions are momentous accomplishments in Motionless’ career. While Creatures had its time to shine during the last stream, this night was a chance for the rest of MIW’s discography to be showcased – exhibiting the band’s progression and the diverse spectrum of their sound. The Deadstream setlist was compelling and well-crafted: presenting an eclectic mix of anger, aggression, hope, and vulnerability. This performance not only highlights the band’s growth and refinement over the years but illustrates their strong will and unfaltering perseverance as they’ve fought through every harsh trial they’ve faced and have traveled from hell and back to make it this far. With Deadstream #2, the metalcore act had set out to top their preceding virtual show; however, this vicious nightmare far exceeded anyone’s expectations – all in one mesmerizing night, Motionless In White honor their past, value the present, and look forward to the next chapter in their future.
The next time you see Motionless In White, it will be on the road! Also, stay tuned because new MIW music is on its way very soon! The band has a future tour and festival dates set, kicking off at Rock Fest WI on July 15 in Cadott, WI. For a full list of upcoming tour dates, check out Motionless In White’s official website.