Disguise is the fifth studio album by American metalcore band Motionless in White. It was released on June 7, 2019, through Roadrunner Records and was produced by Drew Fulk and Chris "Motionless" Cerulli. It is the second release on a major label since the band's departure from Fearless Records.[5] The album's tracklist was revealed on April 17 together with the release of the two singles, "Disguise", which had been premiered at Earthday Birthday in Orlando a few days prior, and "Brand New Numb".[6] It is the band's first album with Vinny Mauro on drums and former Ice Nine Kills bassist Justin Morrow (although credited, neither of them perform on the album), who replaced Devin "Ghost" Sola on bass guitar, as well as the first album not to feature Josh Balz on keyboards.
| Disguise | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 7, 2019 | |||
| Recorded | May 2018–March 2019 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 42:31 | |||
| Producer |
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| Motionless in White chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Disguise | ||||
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Background and promotion
editOn May 6, 2018, Chris Motionless announced via Instagram that a new album would be released in 2019. He claimed that he, along with Ryan Sitkowski and Ricky Olson, would begin full-time writing prior to touring with Warped Tour that summer.
On April 17, the band announced the album was to be titled Disguise. On the same day, they released two singles off of the album titled "Disguise" and "Brand New Numb", along with the tracklist and official artwork created by Zach Dunn.[6]
On May 10, the band released their third single "Undead Ahead 2: The Tale of the Midnight Ride" and its corresponding music video.[7]
On June 5, two days before the album was due to drop, the band premiered the song "Thoughts & Prayers" on BBC's Radio 1's Rock Show with Daniel P. Carter.
The song "Brand New Numb" was featured in NHL 20.
Documentary
editOn June 12, Motionless in White released a documentary on the recording and making of the album. The documentary consists of what it was like to make the album along with what the album means to the band. There are also clips of studio jokes, guitar work, and some vocals from the album. While the documentary unfolds, instrumentals can be heard of the whole album which makes watching the video more enjoyable for fans. The commentary has interviews of the band and what they think of the album. There are a lot of points in the video that discuss what the album means to them, with Chris Motionless saying, "And with this record, I heavily gravitated towards writing about the long journey of admitting to myself that i'm struggling with a lot mentally while simultaneously being in the best and happiest place in my life, I was also in one of the darkest places and that contradiction of those feelings festered in my head and left me more and more confused by my life in general to which it then manifested into deeper and deeper destructive feelings and actions as my time ignoring it went on until one day I just lost it and broke down and there begins basically the story of so many of these songs."[8] While the album has a lot of emotions in it, there are also different feelings for the album with Ryan Sitkowski saying that this is a "solidified version of what Motionless in White actually is".[8] The recordings shown are the songs that can be heard across the album with the song, "Another Life" being a background track during parts of the video. Justin Morrow is shown in the documentary as he just joined the band and got to help make it as the record. It shows him doing background screams. The commentary shows what it was like to make this album and gives more insight into what the album means as a whole.[8]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Already Heard |    [1] |
| Dead Press! | 4/10[3] |
| Distorted Sound | 7/10[9] |
| Sputnikmusic | [10] |
| Wall of Sound | [2] |
Disguise received mixed reviews from several music critics. Ian Kenworthy of Already Heard gave the album 3.5 out of 5 and said: "At its best, Disguise delivers a fun bucketload of goth-flavoured metalcore mayhem. However, it sags in places, especially when they step outside their comfort zone."[1] Carlos Zelaya of Dead Press! scored the album 4/10 stating: "For their fifth album, Disguise, you pretty much know what to expect at this point, with the album being rife with the band's signature goth and industrial-tinged metal, with some clear toe-dipping into nu-metal here and there too."[3]
Distorted Sound scored the album 7 out of 10 and said: "In all, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE have sculpted an album that will surely continue to contribute to their domination, but it does feel as though it achieves this at the expense of innovation and more forward thinking ideology. They are a band that have achieved a lot despite their hardship, and their well earned confidence shines through Disguise at every opportunity."[9] Adam Rice of Wall of Sound rated the album 3.5 out of 5 saying, "Motionless In White have done it again, although not all songs are great there is a healthy mix of different styles and genres which would tailor to anyone's music tastes. With not one song sounding similar to another, its a bag of all sorts!"[2]
Loudwire named it one of the 50 best metal albums of 2019[11] and the best nu metal album of 2019.[4]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Motionless in White
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Disguise" | 3:58 |
| 2. | "Headache" | 3:29 |
| 3. | "</c0de>" | 3:49 |
| 4. | "Thoughts & Prayers" | 4:01 |
| 5. | "Legacy" | 3:33 |
| 6. | "Undead Ahead 2: The Tale of the Midnight Ride" | 4:34 |
| 7. | "Holding on to Smoke" | 4:14 |
| 8. | "Another Life" | 3:25 |
| 9. | "Broadcasting from Beyond the Grave: Death Inc." | 3:54 |
| 10. | "Brand New Numb" | 3:42 |
| 11. | "Catharsis" | 3:52 |
| Total length: | 42:31 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Somebody Told Me" (The Killers cover) | 3:19 |
| Total length: | 45:50 | |
Personnel
editCredits retrieved from AllMusic.[12]
Motionless in White
- Chris "Motionless" Cerulli – lead vocals, additional guitar, production, composition
- Ryan Sitkowski – lead guitar, bass, backing vocals on "Thoughts & Prayers"
- Ricky "Horror" Olson – rhythm guitar, bass, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "Undead Ahead 2: The Tale of the Midnight Ride"
- Vinny Mauro – drums (credited, but does not perform)
- Justin Morrow – bass, backing vocals (credited, but does not perform)
Additional musicians
- Tom Hane – drums, engineering, composition[13]
Additional personnel
- Drew Fulk – production, mixing, composition
- Jeff Dunne – engineering
- Justin DeBlieck – vocal engineering, editing
- Johnny Andrews and Gaiapatra – composition
- Dave Rath – A&R
- Kim Schon – management
- Zach Dunn – cover art
- Sean Smith – design, layout
- Lindsay Adler – photography
Charts
edit| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] | 32 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15] | 69 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] | 65 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[17] | 98 |
| US Billboard 200[18] | 27 |
| US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[19] | 4 |
| US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[20] | 2 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[21] | 4 |
References
edit- ^ a b c d Kenworthy, Ian (6 June 2019). "Review: Motionless In White – Disguise". Already Heard. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ a b c "Motionless In White – Disguise (Album Review)". Wall of Sound. 4 June 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
- ^ a b c Zelaya, Carlos. "ALBUM REVIEW: Motionless In White – Disguise". Dead Press!. Archived from the original on June 12, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
- ^ a b Hill, John (18 July 2024). "The Best Nu-Metal Album of Each Year Since 1994". Loudwire. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ "Motionless In White won't release new album on Fearless Records". Altpress.com. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
- ^ a b "MOTIONLESS IN WHITE To Release 'Disguise' Album In June". Blabbermouth.net. 17 April 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ "MOTIONLESS IN WHITE: Visualizer Video For New Song 'Undead Ahead 2: The Tale Of The Midnight Rider'". Blabbermouth.net. 10 May 2019. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
- ^ a b c "Motionless in White - The Making Of "Disguise" (Documentary)". YouTube.com. Motionless in White. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
- ^ a b Fella, Daniel (6 June 2019). "ALBUM REVIEW: Disguise – Motionless In White". Distorted Sound. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ "Motionless in White - Disguise". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
- ^ "The 50 Best Metal Albums of 2019". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. December 3, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- ^ "Disguise album credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
- ^ "Today is the day!". Instagram. Tom Hane. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Motionless in White – Disguise". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Motionless in White – Disguise" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Motionless in White – Disguise". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ "Motionless in White Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ "Motionless in White Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ "Motionless in White Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ "Motionless in White Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2017.