Valentine’s Day the Metalcore Way: Motionless in White Live in London
Watching Motionless In White take over Alexandra Palace on Valentines Day is the ultimate act of self love for a metal head. Chris Motionless ensured that we knew we were spending the day of love in the right place, screaming “are you ready to die” before descending into chaos.
Admittedly, I had not delved into the archives of Make The Suffer. Filling the first slot with high energy and harsh vocals, I was swiftly converted. ‘Bones’ and ‘Mana God’ had fans tumbling over the barrier and jumping as commanded. Concluding with soaring and guttural vocals in ‘Doomswitch’, these Aussies successfully warmed the crowd.
Shrouding the room in purple and red lighting, Dayseeker brought the deep vibes. Their catalogue of melodic metal with dustings of fierce growls mellowed the crowd in awe. Aware of this effect, vocalist Tony Rodrigo instructed that the absence of a pit needed to change “right fucking now” and switched up the pace with ‘Bloodlust’.
The emotional clarity of Dayseeker and pit-inducing energy of Make The Suffer was a great combination to set the tone for what MIW were about to bestow upon us. MIW owned the room from the outset. Shoulder to shoulder the crowd bounced in anticipation to the introductory cat zipping through space. Against pummeling drums, “lets fucking go” ripped through the venue and Chris released the first mighty “blergh” of the night.
Beaming from ear to ear, Chris was joyous to watch. Whipping out his phone to capture the moment in-between mighty melodic breakdowns, he was as elated to be there as we were. Chris admitted that performing at Ally Pally was “straight off the bucket list” and requested more than once for the lights to be turned on so he could “stare at you for just a second”.
The perfect balance of brutal heaviness and emotional vulnerability went down a treat with metalcore fans. Hardcore headbangers were called to action for ‘Hollow Points’ while in the next breath the happiest of couples were breaking their hearts to ‘Another Life’. Cheers of approval flooded the venue as the LGBTQ+ flag spanned three screens during the finale of ‘Voices’.
It is heart warming and pride inducing to see heavy music reach venues of this capacity. This achievement is not lost on the band as Chris confirmed that the venues played on this tour have been some of the biggest in their 20 year career. That being said, The rafters barely withstood the roar of ‘under god’ when Chris called for collaboration during ‘Slaughter House’, which begs the question, is Ally Pally big enough for MIW?
Each song was a showcase. Perfectly choreographed angle grinding Cherry Bombs, pyro and light displays added dimension and made you feel like you were attending a metalcore show in the West End.
Distributing red roses and roars to the crowd, this monumental Valentines Day was concluded with ‘Eternally Yours’. What more could you ask for on the day of love?