Motionless In White came clean today, May 06th, unveiling the details for their new studio album “Decades“, while also debuting a brand new single titled “Playing God“. That track was previously teased as featuring a “massive” special guest, who has now been revealed to be Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor.
Motionless In White vocalist Chris Motionless offered a lengthy explanation about the song’s lyrical content ahead of its arrival, revealing it to be about the downsides of being a public figure in the social media age and the failings of social media in general.
Chris said:
“‘Playing God‘ is not about any one specific theme of social media infuriation, but a vast amount of themes under the wider umbrella of intentionally toxic and embarrassing behavior exhibited by the bottom-feeding rats of the internet, scavenging for any morsel of attention that helps them cope with the fact that their existence is a miserable wasteland of desperation and self inflicted loneliness.
The song is about people who treat bands, artists, entertainers etc… as though they are their property to impose their all-knowing godly rule upon. How to look, how to sound, how to speak, all while knowing that there is no right answer to these points, because the “right answer” doesn’t generate engagement. Only negative speculation and hateful opinions create a space where all like-minded rats, thirsting for their big hit tweet, can thrive. No expense is spared in pursuit of their big moment of fleeting praise.
It’s about people who presume to know the granular details of our lives, our character, our choices, and our business, constructing their own false narratives that are not even remotely based on truth, and then take to the internet to share that narrative with absolutely no regard or acknowledgement for how vastly uneducated they are on every one of those topics. People’s parasocial disease and sense of entitlement have enabled them to feel worthy of every detail they desire, and they cannot stand what they don’t know, so the agonizing default is to point the finger to the worst possible scenario instead of giving any benefit of the doubt or trying to educate themselves. But hey, truth doesn’t matter, clicks do, and a win’s a win right?
It’s about fans that claim they despise an artist but invest an absurd amount of time and make it their entire personality to obsessively talk about that artist, because the only thing they hate more, is not receiving the praise and attention for their opinion. It’s not enough for them to simply not engage, they’ve made it their purpose to spend hours of their lives typing out the same NPC grade comments to attract other NPC’s to pat each other on the back and bolster their social self-worth.
It’s not just that they hate that person, it’s that they also hate themselves for being so painfully uninteresting that it requires using someone else’s name and accomplishments to create a false illusion of importance and clout. Endless variants of the same recycled opinion, tweaked slightly until one hits with a few hundred likes and queue the “omg a hit tweet, I tottalllllyyy wasn’t expecting that!”
Social media has incentivized the populace to rage bait, farm, lie, and share their meaningless hot takes to stimulate their digital economy, and I understand that, but It doesn’t make it any less disheartening to witness how many people choose to participate in it. Everything I wrote above is just a small fraction of a much bigger picture, but no one wants to read beyond a page, so that’s all I got for now.
Don’t get it twisted, I agree that everyone is, in fact, entitled to their opinion, but this song is focused on the very distinct line between an opinion and a bunch of hollow, self indulgent words with absolutely no real conviction, meant only to create engagement and stir the pot. I don’t want everything to be sunshine and rainbows and love, I just want people to shut the fuck up and focus on shit that would bring actual fulfillment to their lives.”
As for getting to work with Taylor on this new single, Chris went on to say:
“I can’t believe how aggressive Corey sounds. It’s an observational commentary on toxic internet culture and the people who perpetuate it. The internet has gotten worse and worse to the point where only negativity, hatred, and lies are at the forefront of everything you see. It’s very frustrating because I thought social media was supposed to be a mechanism to connect, but all it does is divide.”
“Decades” marks the seventh studio album from the gold-certified industrial metalcore band. It was recorded with Drew Fulk (Boundaries, Knocked Loose) and ex-Ice Nine Kills guitarist/vocalist Justin “JD” deBlieck co-producing. Outside of Taylor, guest appearances from pop/hip hop artist Skylar Grey and Dark Divine vocalist Anthony Martinez are also included. Members of Ovtlier will guest on a bonus track featured with select editions of the album.
Speaking of this record as a whole, Chris went on to add:
“We were never afraid to take risks. This band has not only lasted two decades, but we’ve also outlasted all of the obstacles we’ve faced. We’re still grinding. No matter how far we expand the universe that is Motionless In White, we’re going to preserve the heart, soul, and roots of where we came from. We are never going to abandon heartfelt, emotional, and heavy songs.
We are never going to abandon what mattered to us the most when we started. We’re finding new ways to emphasize those stories with exciting sounds and looks, but the vision is the same. It’s always been this grand, dramatic, and theatrical entity. I’m proud we haven’t gotten comfortable.
‘Decades‘ is definitely heavier than some of our past albums. Our current world bred more aggressive energy, anger, and resistance.”
“Decades” will be out July 17th on Roadrunner Records and will feature the following track listing:
01 – “Decades“
02 – “log_in//crash_out“
03 – “R.I.P.” (feat. Skylar Grey)
04 – “Fight Like Hell“
05 – “Playing God” (feat. Corey Taylor)
06 – “All That I’ve Ever Known“
07 – “Blood Rave” (feat. Anthony Martinez)
08 – “Love At First Bite“
09 – “Count Back From Zero“
10 – “Blood Pact“
11 – “Afraid Of The Dark“
12 – “Sunglasses At Night“
13 – “Hollywood” (Bonus Track)
14 – “Fight Like Hell” (feat. Ovtlier) (bonus track)
Pre-orders can be obtained via motionlessinwhite.lnk.to/decades. Touring on the album is already underway, with the following dates lined up.
With Bring Me The Horizon, The Plot In You & Amira Elfeky:
05/07 Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
05/09 Daytona, FL – Welcome To Rockville Festival
05/11 St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
05/12 Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
05/13 Saint Paul, MN – Grand Casino Arena
05/15 Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena
05/16 Columbus, OH – Sonic Temple Festival
With Make Them Suffer & Currents:
06/24 Melbourne, AUS – Margaret Court Arena
06/26 Sydney, AUS – Hordern Pavilion
06/28 Brisbane, AUS – Riverstage
With Lorna Shore, Fit For A King & Static Dress:
07/14 Bridgeport, CT – Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
07/16 Gilford, NH – BankNH Pavilion
07/18 Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
07/21 Charlotte, NC – Truliant Amphitheater
07/22 Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
07/24 Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
07/25 Houston, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
07/26 Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
07/28 Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
07/29 Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
07/31 Los Angeles, CA – The Kia Forum
08/01 Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre
08/04 Portland, OR – Theater of the Clouds
08/05 Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
08/07 Sandy, UT – Beddy’s Plaza at America First Field
08/09 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
08/11 Oklahoma City, OK – Zoo Amphitheatre
08/12 Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
08/14 Indianapolis, IN – Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park
08/15 Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre
With Bring Me The Horizon and The Plot In You:
09/20 Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
09/23 Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
09/24 Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
09/30 Quebec City, QC – Videotron Centre
10/02 Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre
10/03 Hamilton, ON – TD Coliseum
10/06 London, ON – Canada Live Place
10/08 Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
