Motionless In White's new single Masterpiece is a testament to the old adage 'go big or go home'. Ramping up the elements of their sound that has seen them confidently share stages with everyone from Slipknot and A Day To Remember to Korn and Lamb Of God, this latest single - taken from their new album Scoring The End Of The World - is more akin to the massive emotional theatrics of My Chemical Romance than the usual industrial or metalcore influences fans have come to expect.
Hammer caught up with guitarist Ricky 'Horror' Olson to find out exactly what is going down in the MiW camp.
Tell us a little about Mastermind – what’s it all about, what's with the change of sonic direction?
“Whereas previous single Cyberhex was more of the traditional sound that you would expect from Motionless In White, this is more of a look at who you are as a person, the things that you've done and your regrets. How do you move forward from those things? How do you put your pieces back together once you feel like you've been through something that is destroyed you?”
How much do those themes fit in with the rest of the album?
“The whole album is a phoenix mentality. We've had issues in the past, gone through our trials and tribulations and this is the album that we're going to burn the world down and rise again as this new entity.”
What would you say are the biggest changes to happen to the band since 2019's Disguise?
“Being stuck at home gave us this new perspective on what we were doing. There was a time period where I wasn't sure if we were even going to be a band anymore, because I didn't know if any of this [pandemic] stuff was going to go away. That definitely plays into the album, this idea of 'the world's falling apart, we're figuring out how to put it back together'. The world is in chaos right now and there's no way that can't influence your work.”
Do you think Motionless In White could benefit from the nu metal revival, being on the cusp of the sound in the same way Rammstein once were?
“With bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit, we're just on the outskirts. We're waiting for them to open the doors and say, ‘come on in’. There's definitely nu metal influences in our music, so I would love to be a part of that world.”
Scoring The End Of The World is due June 10 via Roadrunner. Motionless In White are currently on tour in the US. For full dates, visit their website.
