Motionless in White (Motionless) is a metalcore band from Scranton, Pennsylvania, that was formed in 2005 by frontman Chris “Motionless” Cerulli, the only “original” band member left, but one can argue (and I will) that lead guitarist Ryan Sitkowski is an original member. Ryan came into the band in 2008 before the band’s first full lengthen album, Creatures, was released. The other members of Motionless include Ricky “Horror” Olsen (rhythm guitar and co-lead vocals), Vinny Mauro (drums), and Justin Morrow (bass and backing vocals).
Motionless has recently jumped into the public eye with their song “Werewolf,” which has more of a pop-rock essence to it. I won’t lie. It is a good song, but it is not one of the masterpieces that I want to highlight. Additionally, I will try to bring attention to songs that are not part of their well-known songs won’t, like their song “Masterpiece.”
- “Voices”
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The gay anthem. I say this because that is what the song is about. Chris has come out to state that this song was created after hearing stories from numerous fans about how they are struggling/feeling with being a part of the LGBT+ community. “Voices” is a dark song even though everything around it makes it sound happy, but it works with its counterpart song “Loud (Fuck It),” which comes directly after “Voices” on Graveyard Shift. Motionless is open about being accepting of people within the LGBT+ community and wants people to know that they are accepted in this fan base. The band has gone as far as having an entire pride merch line with 100% of the proceeds going to The Trevor Project. Chris said, via Twitter, that as a band, they decided that they wouldn’t put out any pride merch until they had a partnership with a pride foundation.
Since the song came out, the band has played the song live at every show. Chris makes a point to grab a flag from the crowd every time and display it when he can. Before the band starts playing the song, Chris always reminds everyone that “this is for everyone in the LGBT community.” During the song, the title comes up on the screen that’s behind them, and they layer the pride flag over it during the chorus. While the rest of the time, it is the music video playing in the background. You can watch a video here of their live performance in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on September 9th, 2022.
For the music video, the coolest part about it is that as the song progresses, so do the pride colors in the background. The video also shows Ricky, Ryan, and Chris all “fighting” with clones of themselves as they are isolated. To me, this shows the isolation that people can feel from having to keep a piece of themselves hidden. Please note, if you watch the video, there is an unstated flash warning.
Motionless In White – Voices [OFFICIAL VIDEO] - “Holding On To Smoke”
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This is probably one of my top favorite songs by Motionless. It’s another one with a deep meaning, but overall, this album has a deep meaning. The album is all about how Chris–and I’m sure the other band members–are struggling with something it’s not accepting who you are or feeling different than everyone else. This song specifically, to me, is about bending to emotions, but never actually breaking to them. At the same time, it’s saying the song is talking about no one being able to define who they become except for themselves.
Personally, this song means a lot to me because it reminds me that even if someone else tells me I need to change, I am me, and that is okay. It is relatable as I understand what it means to have a mind that beats me down. The following lines are so powerful to me because this message changed my thoughts on how I perceive myself: “I may bend but I won’t break/ I define who I become” so powerful to me.
Motionless In White – Holding On To Smoke (Official Audio) - “Immaculate Misconception”
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This is the first song on their debut album Creatures, and it has an interesting motivation. Chris has come out in a statement and said that the point of this song is to hold up a mirror to people who think they are so self-righteous and show them how they are the exact opposite. Chris shows that there isn’t a difference between them and the people who don’t see themselves as self-righteous. The first part of the breakdown in the song says, “Open your mind before your mouth/Or come and fucking get us.” It shows the reality that even though the band and fans are looked down on for this kind of music, they are not bad people, and they are going to voice their displeasure. The band, like many within the metal genre, is seen as “satanist” because of the demonic sound of the screaming and the darker themes people think they have. However, this music, specifically this song, uplifts people to tell them that they should be proud of who they are. Chris explains all of this, plus some more details about his personal feelings along with the band, on Genius Lyrics.
The music video is an interesting one but works well with the meaning of the song. It opens with the band walking into a venue with many people picketing saying how it’s “Godless music” and stuff. When the music kicks in, Chris attacks one of the people who spit in his face, which is ironic because there is also a line in the song about being spit in the face. The video then starts to switch between the band being on a stage and performing for a group of people and Chris being turned into God himself. About halfway through the video, the protestors come into the venue, and Chris looks slightly demonic as he walks over to the group, kicking the lead guy in the chest before the pit attacks the protesters to push them out. Meanwhile, Chris as God is being whipped and tied up on the cross where he is left to die.
Motionless In White – “Immaculate Misconception” Official Music Video - “porcelain”
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This song is from the band’s most recent album Scoring The End Of The World, and this song wrecked me when I first heard it. This song is complementary to “Werewolf” in which “Werewolf” is about the darker, monstrous side of Chris while “Porcelain” is about the side of Chris that is breaking, realizing the damage the dark side of him has created. Without knowing this, as one listens to the song, one knows that there is pain that is heavily laced throughout the song. The second line of the chorus, “But broken, I bow to the beast inside,” also helps link the song to “Werewolf.”
What puts this song over the edge is the sound of shattering glass every time the title is said at the end of the chorus. Another sets this into more effect is the last line: “I howled a wrecking ball, and you were porcelain.” I find the use of “howled” over something else very interesting because you would think that it would be something related to “throw” (but a more elegant word). Either way, I love this song so much because you can tell how much emotion has gone into this song.
Motionless In White – Porcelain [Official Audio + Lyrics] - “America” ft. Michael Vampire
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This is the third track on the band’s second album Infamous. This song in itself is disturbingly accurate to how the country was when it was released, but also, terrifyingly still accurate 10 years later in 2023. “America” hits a lot of hot topic buttons like how we glorify some of the most gruesome crimes for our entertainment. Most importantly, while this is all happening and people are struggling, Capitol Hill is feeding off of it, unaffected.
This song live calls for immense crowd participation, but what would you expect when a good proportion of the song is “A-M-E-R-I-C-A” being shouted at you? This song also became their closing song once the album dropped for many shows if not all of them. In this live video of the song during VANS Warped Tour 2014 in Houston, you can hear how loud the crowd is screaming the song and just how much it drowns out Chris’s voice. This is surprising since Infamous is when Motionless lost a good proportion of their fanbase that they gained from Creatures, but they also got new fans. Chris has said how this time was one of the hardest for him and the band because it was so uncertain if they just sank their career with the rapid change from being heavy in screamo to less heavy.
The music video includes visuals of the subjects addressed in the song in terms of American culture. I’m not sure if that credit goes to the song having so much that you can do with it, or if it’s the fact that the music video is directed by M. Shawn “clown” Crahan from Slipknot with the idea inspired by Chris. In a behind-the-scenes video, Chris explains more of the creative choices that went into the video. “The idea I had behind this music video is to create a freakshow based off of these American, iconic, idolized people,” Chris states. “Like this strung-out pop star, pedophile priest, the corrupt politician, and the glutton.”
Motionless In White – America
This was a difficult list to make since there are six albums from this band. Nevertheless, I tried my best to select my personal favorites from each of the albums. This meant that I left out some of the singles they had. As a result, I have created a list of honorable mentions that I would have placed on this list if it were longer:
- “Reincarnate” from Reincarnate
- “City Lights” from Creatures
- “Catharsis” from Disguise
- “Devil’s Night” from Infamous
- “/c0de” from Disguise
Overall, this band has a lot of meaningful songs and lyrics to it. You can find all of this by either listening to the songs or looking on Genius Lyrics at the bottom if Chris has commented on it.