MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, SKOLD, DEFYING DECAY Ignite In Bristol, UK. [Review & Photos]

Motionless In White

So I arrived at the Bristol o2 Academy to one of the biggest queues I have seen. The line went on and on for what seemed like forever. This was the last night of the UK run of dates for Motionless In Whites Disguise Tour. After the release of their latest album ‘Disguise’ released on 7th June 2019 through Roadrunner Records, it’s their second release on a major label since their departure from Fearless Records.

Defying Decay

So Defying Decay are first up and are a metal band based in Bangkok, Thailand and they formed in 2010. They are very heavy yet melodic and are entertaining to watch. When they were due on stage the o2 did all they could to get all the fans in before they hit the stage. Normally there are not as many people showing up this early, most wait until later and just show up for the headliners. It was nice to see but unfortunately not everyone got inside before they hit the stage. Just a lesson to be learned, it’s always good to show up early. Not only to get in but these opening bands could be the headliners of tomorrow.

Defying Decay came out to a really warm welcome at the o2 venue and blasted in with full throttle energy from start to finish. This band consisted of 7 members and looked pretty crowded on stage, but they all commanded attention and stormed around the stage easily with vocalist Jay Euarchukiati just going off. I think he spent more time in the air to be fair. They also treated the crowd to a cover of “Faint” by Linkin Park. On the last song the bass player went for a walk around the venue to pump up the crowd. He walked upstairs before finally ending up in the middle of the audience moshing with the crowd, whilst Jay was smashing a bass guitar into pieces on stage. Be on the look out for these fellas, good things are coming their way for sure. They spare no expense and expel every ounce of energy they have to entertain the crowd.

Skold

Next up was SKOLD the solo project by Tim Skold who has performed with various bands including Marilyn Manson, Kingpin, Shotgun Messiah, KMFDM and MDFMK. Tim Skold also has worked as a produced for Marilyn Manson, and produced Motionless In White’s 2012 album ‘Infamous.’ You can certainly tell that the bands sound is more influenced by the recent bands he has worked with like Manson and Motionless, as his earlier bands Shotgun Messiah and Kingpin were more hair metal bands. The band does put a unique spin on their music so it still stands out from his former bands. Luckily everyone was in the venue at this stage to witness their performance and certain tracks got really loud cheers so they definitely have some die hard fans in the audience. The keyboard player was just awesome with his hinged keyboard meaning he could move it in any direction rather than just standing there like most, both him and drummer were on fire and made their performance worthwhile.

Motionless In White

So no introduction needed… Motionless In White with almost ten years since releasing their debut album ‘Creatures’ in 2010 have grown from strength to strength and maturing musically along the way but still keeping elements of their roots in tack. Motionless In White kicked straight in with “Undead Ahead II” from the new album ‘Disguise’ so a carry on from “Undead Ahead” off of ‘Creatures’ to the crowd instantly singing along from start to finish. This is my first time seeing Justin Morrow with the band. Justin Morrow previously played with another amazing band Ice Nine Kills, and he departed that band to join Motionless In White. He was a touring member of the band since 2018, but as of 2019 is an official member of the band. He is a great addition on bass after the departure of Devin “Ghost” Sola. Morrow has a chemistry already with the band and its as though he has been playing with them for years.

Motionless In White

The atmosphere was insane, this felt like an arena performance with Motionless In White having their own staging on the o2’s stage with stairs going up either side of the stage and a level platform from one side to the other. That and the clinically performed set and sound was amazing!! The whole set seemed to run smooth, bar a couple times their was a few moments of silence. Not sure if there were technical problems but it did not affect any of the tracks. It was nice to hear that they crammed in 18 tracks maybe more, I lost count; but Bristol you got your moneys worth. They played plenty of old and also mixed in some new bangers like title track “Disguise,” “</cOde>,” “Headache,” and “Another Life.” We were also graced with “Puppets” where the crowd went mad for this track and vocalist Chris Motionless said “hey Bristol at this stage of the night people start getting comfortable and settled in and start to chill out well that’s not going to happen, when this song kicks in I want to see everyone from left to right, front to back and upstairs on the balcony jump up and down, up and down, upppppp and ddddooowwwwnnn. This tracks called Code.” The fans went nuts for this new banger of a track, and it continued through the rest of the set. The band exited the stage briefly and left the crowd to drummer Vinny Mauro for him to deliver a drum solo. Normally drum solos are cringe worthy, but trust me this was insanely good. Not to long and not really to show off just some technical played double bass drum beats mixed in with some linear tom fills and bags of energy. Hats off to you sir, perfect just perfect. After this they called Tim Skold out on stage who joined in with them for “Final Dictvm” from the album ‘Reincarnate’ as he guests on the recorded track. All in all I personally can’t wait to catch Motionless In White again and as they’ve been growing in popularity. It would be nice to see them in an even bigger venue next time or even supporting a mega big band on an arena tour. I wish the guys all the success they deserve, Metal Nexus has your back.