It’s finally here. Following a couple months of pre-release teasing, Motionless in White have escaped the abyss to deliver their first song of 2026: “Afraid of the Dark.”
Vocalist Chris Motionless had been hyping up the tune — the band’s first single since the promotion cycle behind 2022’s Scoring the End of the World — as far back as late last year, and the group spent the past week promoting its arrival on socials. Now, the song has arrived on streamers and via the music video up above.
“Afraid of the Dark” is explained in a press release as uniting MIW’s “past, present and future,” and coalesces the eras with jauntily arpeggiating synth-phonics, blisteringly fast metalcore verses, a blegh-heavy breakdown, and an earnestly-sung, chest-thumping chorus.
Motionless said in a statement that the song is “about taking control of your destiny and writing the script of your own future without any doubt or apprehension.” Its lyrics seemingly reflect tough times, pushing through the pain with likeminded folks (“I don’t have to do this alone”) and making it out the other end stronger than before (“From the ashes I was reborn free/From the grave I was rebuilt by what broke me”).
“We refuse to settle, refuse to let any opposing force stop us from clawing our way up from hell, and we refuse to fear the dark of the unknown,” Motionless added. “I want the story of MIW to inspire anyone listening to not fear the unknown, but to run head first into it with everything they’ve got.”
You can sample the song, which teases an as-yet-undetailed new MIW album up above.
Next week, Motionless in White are set to launch their “Afraid of the Dark” European tour, which features support from Dayseeker. In the spring, MIW will be supporting Bring Me the Horizon on the next North American leg of the latter’s “Ascension Program” tour. All dates are below.
Motionless in White 2026 tour dates:
2/5 Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro !
2/6 Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena !
2/7 Manchester, UK – AO Arena !
2/10 Dublin, IE – 3Arena !
2/13 Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena !
2/14 London, UK – Alexandra Palace !
2/17 Paris, FR – Zenith !
2/18 Amsterdam, NL – AFAS Live !
2/20 Dusseldorf, DE – Mitsubishi Electric Hall !
2/21 Hannover, DE – Swiss Life Hall !
2/22 Prague, CZ – Forum Karlin !
2/24 Munich, DE – Zenith !
2/25 Vienna, AT – Stadthalle !
2/27 Frankfurt, DE – Myticket Jahrhunderthalle !
2/28 Brussels, BE – Forest National !
3/2 Lyon, FR – Le Transbordeur !
3/3 Toulouse, FR – Interference !
3/5 Barcelona, ES – Razzmatazz !
3/6 Madrid, ES – Palacio Vistalegre !
3/7 Lisbon, PT – Sala Tejo / MEO Arena !
4/28 Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena $
4/29 Montreal, QB – Centre Bell $
5/1 Worcester, MA – DCU Center $
5/2 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden $
5/4 Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena $
5/5 Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena $
5/7 Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena $
5/9 Daytona Beach, FL – Welcome to Rockville*
5/11 St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center $
5/12 Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center $
5/13 St. Paul, MN – Grand Casino Arena $
5/15 Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena $
5/16 Columbus, OH – Sonic Temple Festival *
! with Dayseeker
$ with Bring Me the Horizon, the Plot in You and Amira Elfeky
*festival date