“Do people find it cringe to be a fan?”
Chris “Motionless” Cerulli laughs as he asks the question. but the Motionless in White singer is actually quite serious.
“Like what is the problem with that?” he continues. “I think my favorite part of this entire thing is that it doesn’t matter how big the band gets, I’m just a fan, dude. I love this so much, and the motivation to keep going is due to the fact I get to have a cool way to be among my favorite bands, and music in general. I’m just happy that the magic of being a fan isn’t gone.”
Motionless in White have spent the last two decades conjuring their own kind of magic: a band that looks like it crawled out of a goth kid’s fever dream — all corpse-pale theatrics, horror-movie melodrama, bleeding-heart choruses and industrial-metal crunch. They have committed to the aesthetic with a level of conviction that would make plenty of bands easy targets for cheap shots and shit-talking. But Motionless in White remain largely unscathed. Talk to other artists, longtime fans or people from the northeastern Pennsylvania scene that birthed them, and you rarely hear a bad word about Chris Motionless or the band.
That kind of goodwill is rare, especially for a band that has only doubled down on what made them different. Since forming in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 2004, Motionless in White have evolved from a scrappy metalcore act with spooky imagery and potential — the “children of the night” summoned on their 2010 debut, Creatures — into one of modern heavy music’s rarest things: a scene-era band that keeps getting bigger without giving up their darkness.
The band — rounded out by guitarists Ricky Olson and Ryan Sitkowski, bassist Justin Morrow and drummer Vinny Mauro — have gone from playing to maybe 30 kids in a youth-center gymnasium in places like Moosic, Pennsylvania, to commanding major festival stages, earning platinum singles and notching No. 1 albums on the hard-rock charts. Through it all, Motionless has remained one of the nicest guys in the game. He’s the kind of person who will privately text to let you know how much he liked your record, or buy a ticket to the show he wants to see — not as a gesture, but because, first and foremost, he’s still a fan. Cringe or not.
Jonathan Weiner
Decades, Motionless in White’s seventh full-length and the follow-up to 2022’s Scoring the End of the World, arrives as the band are bigger than ever and still fully locked into their own world. Lead single “Afraid of the Dark” was released in January and became the group’s first song to reach No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart. “Playing God” features a guest vocal shot from Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, while their cover of Corey Hart’s ’80s hit “Sunglasses at Night” pulls the song into MIW’s shadowy universe.This summer and fall, they’ll take Decades on the road for their extended “Sweat and Blood” North American headlining run, with openers Lorna Shore, Dayseeker, the Devil Wears Prada and more.
Decades may be the newest chapter, but Motionless in White’s blueprint was there early. From the jump, the band’s ambitions were clear. Their debut, Creatures, served as connective tissue between hardcore-rooted, club-level acts like Eighteen Visions and Bleeding Through and theatrical mainstagers like Rob Zombie and Slipknot. Motionless in White proved that metalcore breakdowns and clean/unclean vocal dynamics could live naturally inside alt-metal songwriting — all while wrapping it in a proudly horror-steeped aesthetic at a time when Christian metalcore still had a major hold on the scene.
But having the blueprint and knowing how to build off it were two different things. After the initial hype and success of Creatures, the band followed it up with 2012’s Infamous, their first real attempt at aiming higher. They enlisted former Marilyn Manson guitarist Tim Skold as producer, hoping to push their sound closer to the industrial-goth grandeur they idolized. Instead, the process exposed how hard it is to turn ambition into identity.
“We had one month to meet this guy and write a bunch of songs, and it’s just not how things work with us,” Motionless recalls. “We were just shooting all over the place. Everything was garbage, nothing was working out. Anxiety, stress, tension, it was not good. Tim just asked us straight up, ‘What do you want from this experience?’ and I said, ‘I want to write songs that feel like they can come from The Golden Age of Grotesque part two.’ Of course, that’s not something you want to admit to people, but enough time has passed where I just don’t care. And then he had much more of a direction. It was absolutely not him forcing anything on us to sound that way. Tim was such a mentor to us.”
That experience gave the band a new perspective on what it takes to write big songs. On 2014’s Reincarnate, they took a massive step toward defining what a Motionless in White song could be: undeniable choruses, hooks and heavy parts, all wrapped in a darkness that felt big enough for the stage they wanted. The level-ups kept coming, from 2017’s Graveyard Shift, which Motionless points to as the record where he truly became a frontperson, to the massive post-pandemic album Scoring the End of the World.
Now comes Decades, a record that looks back without getting stuck there, summing up the band’s past while pushing toward whatever comes next.
Ask Motionless if he considers himself a nostalgic person, and the answer arrives with a surprising amount of ache.
“So much that the pain I feel… This conversation has been equal parts delightful while also incredibly painful,” he says. “It makes it hard for me to live in the now — even though things are technically better in so many other ways, there’s a lot of desensitization to the magic of touring. You don’t get to be in a van with your best friends. You don’t get to roll up to a Sonic with all the bands on the tour and just hang out, four bands deep, in a parking lot anymore. Those magic moments of touring don’t exist anymore.”
Decades pays tribute to those times by pulling from different corners of Motionless in White’s past: the chugging, knife-to-the-throat metalcore of “log_in//crash_out,” and the sweeping catharsis of “All That I’ve Ever Known,” where Motionless writes from the perspective of music itself.
There are tributes to the bands that made them, too, most notably on “Playing God,” the album’s heaviest cut. The song channels the Slipknot influence that has run through MIW’s catalog and features a choice guest spot from Corey Taylor himself.
“I’m not listening to it as a Motionless song,” says the frontman. “I’m hearing that as a Slipknot song and freaking out as a fan.”
Aimed at haters and internet rage-baiters, “Playing God” stirred up something equally furious in Taylor, who meets the song on its own pissed-off terms. “When I heard it, I was like, I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about this,” Motionless continues. “Because I’m not gonna ask, ‘Hey, did you just really feel the lyric?’ Of course they have dealt with all of the same shit that the song is talking about, both personally and as a band. But to then have straight-up Iowa-level Corey on a song is nuts.”
Dan Virchow
If there’s a central thesis to Decades, it’s that Motionless in White don’t want their darkness to stop with them. They want it to expand. They want it to be useful — something fans can take, reshape and use to make their own lives feel bigger.
“We don’t want to save your life,” Motionless says. “We just want to be a part of your life on your journey that helps you feel motivated, just like music did for us. It’s the pay-it-forward thing. Music gave us so much, now it’s time for us to try to give as much as we can.”
To celebrate Decades, we invited Motionless into our Greatest Interview Ever series to look back on Motionless in White’s biggest triumphs, gnarliest losses and standout moments that have helped keep that magic alive.
What’s the worst song you’ve ever written?
Chris Motionless Oh my God. Where do I begin? Trying to think about the one I could just take back more than anything… I guess I’ll go with our song called “LOUD (Fuck It)” [off Graveyard Shift.] I joke to people about hating the song, but I don’t hate it. I just think that it didn’t belong. People didn’t understand, maybe, the reason why it was created.
I felt like I wanted to have a song that was very much like, “This could be on the Tony Hawk Pro Skater soundtrack.” It was like, let’s write a song that feels like it could be at the X Games, because we loved that shit. And we’d never gone down that road where it was super fun — the music video would be a skate video. Shit I loved. And I think when the label heard the song, they were like, “That’s the single,” and we were like, “No, it’s not.” And they were like, “Yes, it is.” And we kind of were like, “Alright, we’ll give it a shot.” And the way that it was presented to people, I think, created a much different vision of what it was meant to be — than what it was meant to be. And because of how it went, I think that’s the worst song.
What is the song you’re proudest of?
Man, that’s really tough. I’m gonna go with — it would have been “570,” but I think “Afraid of the Dark” got more of what I wanted from “570” than that song. So I’ll go with “Afraid of the Dark.”
What is Motionless in White’s most underrated song?
“Catharsis” off of Disguise. I feel like that song was us taking a shot at doing something that felt a little bit more like Muse, or more alternative rock or something. But I really loved the lyrics. I thought the melodies were super cool, and it’s the last track on the album. It’s not a heavy song, and I do feel like the fans that get it really get it. That’s one that I wish got more [attention]. So, “Catharsis,” yeah.
Dan Virchow
What is the craziest fan gift you’ve ever received?
There are endless wild things we have in our warehouse. I actually hate that nothing has topped this, because forever, the answer has been a little tin that inside had a bloody razor blade with someone’s hair on it. Whether or not that’s real blood, whatever… I don’t know what it was. But who gives that to somebody? [Laughs] Nothing has beaten that in 12, 13 years since that happened. And I hate that, because I want a new, fun, “Oh my God, what the hell is this?” moment.
What is the greatest album by another artist that you didn’t like at first, but now love?
I hated Led Zeppelin growing up, because my dad listened to classic rock. I liked a lot of them, and I hated many more of them. And for whatever reason, dude, Led Zeppelin I just could not get down with as a kid. And then equally, AC/DC. So just to make it easy, I’m gonna go with Back in Black from AC/DC. Because I hated it. And now, later in life, I’m like, “This is incredible.” There’s clearly a reasoning why this is the most massive rock band to ever exist. So, let’s go with Back in Black.
What has been your greatest success?
I’m sure that this answer will come off as, “Of course you’d say that,” or something, but I feel like my parents were supportive — but very apprehensive about it. My mom initially was just like, “I’m not having a drum set in our house. Do not buy him a drum set.” And then my dad bought me the drum set for Christmas. There was always support, but then it also came with a bit of, “I don’t like this, I don’t like that you’re doing that, I don’t like this music, grow your eyebrows back, blah blah blah blah blah.” So, I feel like I earned my parents’ respect in a way where none of the stuff that they used to be wary of or cared about matters anymore.
It feels weird to be like, “My biggest accomplishment is having my parents be proud of me” — but it is. It’s not something I actively chose to have happen, because if they didn’t like it, I’d still do it. But it is cool to be like, yeah, they’re stoked, they’re happy. Watching my mom see one of our shows is so cool. My dad’s always chilling around the shows and just having a great time. I think that’s really awesome.
What is your biggest regret?
I think, maybe, honestly, not taking being the vocalist more seriously sooner. Because it took three records to finally just dip my toes into the idea that I am the singer of the band. I really wish I realized that and took control of that more early on and focused on that. Because [back] then, all I wanted to do was write cool riffs and essentially play in the band, but I was also the singer. It’s weird, because it sounds like I would then go back and change it. I regret it, but I guess I wouldn’t go back and change anything if I could, because I’m happy with where things went.
Dan Virchow
What is the greatest live band you’ve ever seen?
Wow. Show-wise… I don’t know. Rammstein’s pretty crazy. I think my favorite live show of all time might be when we were on Mayhem Fest with Rob Zombie. His show on that tour is my favorite show I’ve seen, still. It was nonstop, spooky, fun, animatronics, all kinds of video screens, pyro — it was the whole package. So I’ll go with the Mayhem Fest Rob Zombie show.
What is the most “rock star” thing you’ve ever purchased?
I would say the first time I ever flew business class and the lay-down seat — the United Polaris, or whatever. I was just like, “Alright, fuck it, I’m spending $3,000 to lay down to fly to Europe.” It killed me. But I was just like, it has to be done. I must do this for the first time in my life. And that changed my life forever. So yeah, spending thousands of dollars to simply just lay down on a plane is the stupidest way to spend your money, but I justified it by the fact that I’m terrified to fly, and it helps me sleep easier. [Laughs]
What is the most starstruck you’ve ever been?
There are plenty of times that I’ve felt that way. But I would say that the first time I was starstruck, it hit harder. It was meeting Mick Morris, the bass player from Eighteen Visions — rest in peace. I went to their show in Scranton.
They were opening for Hinder, and I had gone to Hot Topic prior to the show to buy a shirt for the show. And then I went to meet them at merch after, and he goes, “Did you get this shirt at Hot Topic?” And I was like, “Yeah.” He’s like, “What size is that?” And I said, “You know, small or whatever.” And he was like, “Oh, you must have got the last one, because I went and there wasn’t any smalls left.” And I was like, “You can have it if you want!” He’s like, “Oh, I’ll trade you.” So he took me and my girlfriend to their bus, brought the shirt out from the back, and we exchanged shirts. And that was it. We went on our way. And I was like, this is the bass player from Eighteen Visions, who — my hair was literally just a replica of his hair. And it blew my goddamn mind. So that one sticks out forever.
Dan Virchow
What is the best show you’ve ever played?
Seattle at El Corazón. Picture this: it’s us on tour, we’re co-headlining with the Devil Wears Prada. The venue, I don’t know if you’ve ever been there, but it’s pretty small. It’s like a couple hundred people. No barricade, stage is at fans’ knees, right up in front of you. It’s where we met our guitar player Ricky [Olson] — we met him on that A Static Lullaby tour. A lot of history there. And then John Pettibone from Himsa is the venue manager. Obviously, Himsa had been another really big, influential band on us early on. I had the John Pettibone devilock and everything. It was all this one big package.
We go onstage. Dude, chaos. It was the hottest, sweatiest show. It felt like we were in a Hellfest DVD, where the stage is just loaded with people coming up, head-walking. I was like, “What band are we right now that we’re playing ‘Immaculate Misconception’ and people are fucking head-walking?” And John Pettibone is on the left side of the stage, just super into it. It was one of the craziest shows of my life. So I’ll go with that.
What’s the worst show you’ve ever played?
Oh, boy. Worst show of all time: opening for Blessthefall and Pierce the Veil, who were direct support to Blessthefall. It was 2011, our first European tour. We played in… I don’t remember what the city was, but it was in Germany. We played to the bands and the merch people, and about five fans that were in the club. It was just a bombed-out, terrible club. All five people who were staying there watching us were literally pointing at us, laughing and talking shit our whole set. We played, like, five songs. The venue was sub-zero temperatures. It was the worst experience of my life.
Quite the opposite of the El Corazón show. Like, polar opposites, quite literally polar. It was the motivating factor that, to this day, when we play in Germany, I bring that up to let the fans know how much we appreciate what they’ve helped us grow towards. But that was the worst show ever.
What has been your most embarrassing onstage moment?
I’ve fallen onstage a couple times. I have this weird thing where occasionally I’ll have a crazy stutter onstage. I’ll have to just straight-up stop talking, but I don’t have a stutter in real life as much. It only happens onstage.
I would say — in the interest of saving time — there was one time we played a show where I did not even realize, until that exact moment, that the first verse of “Eternally Yours” is very [similar], if not identical, to the same screaming pattern as the first verse of “570.” I had no idea. No one ever picked that out, I’d never picked that out. But we’re going up there, we’re playing “Eternally Yours,” and I start singing the lyrics from “570.” And I can’t stop. I’m like, These are not the right words, but I’m singing them, and I can’t… I don’t know what I’m doing. Where am I? What’s happening? I just completely crumbled, and fell apart, and started singing “570” in that space. And then I come to find out — oh my God, it’s because it’s the same exact vocal pattern that no one has ever acknowledged before. And I just lost my way. The song fell apart. I had to stop and then pick back up with the band when I could.
Who has been the toughest band to open for?
Slayer. We played Knotfest in San Bernardino. We were probably fourth underneath them, and we were first up on the main stage. The fest had all kinds of backline issues, so they pushed our start time way further back than we were supposed to. So first off, fans were pissed at us, thinking that it was our fault that we pushed the show back. One of our techs brought our keyboard player’s keyboard onstage, and all we hear is “Get that fucking keyboard off the stage!”
We go up there, we play, like, six or seven songs. Dude. They might as well have just been turned around looking at the lawn, because it was bad. It was bad. And at the same show, our bass player had crazy tech issues, too, because we didn’t have any time to set up because of the Slayer thing. It was just like — take everything that could have gone wrong and just put it into a show. It was terrible. [But] I thought it was kind of like a rite of passage moment, so I wasn’t too upset about it.
What’s the best part about Scranton?
That answer would change over the years. I think now it’s [that] it feels like home. You go on tour, you’re gone for however long, you roll back in on, you know, Route 81, or Interstate 81, and you know you’re going home. You get there, and it’s just like, this is where I grew up. This is where everything came together. There’s just that magic “ohm” feeling. And what’s cool is I’ve never been motivated to be in the band to get out of my hometown. That just wasn’t part of it. So I don’t have that resentment. I just like the magic — that feels like where everything was created.
I also love the fact that I could watch The Office, and there’s a small percentage of people that could watch the show and know the little details of what they’re talking about. That’s really cool. That was such a fun thing, to be like, “Damn, I get it, I’m in on the joke!”
What’s Corey Taylor’s best vocal performance?
Oh, man. Wow. I will have to go with “People = Shit,” because it is so pissed off, dude. When he says, “Here we go again, motherfucker” — I’m just like, yeah, I am in. It’s so pissed off. If you ever need a song to get you up and moving, that’s the one.
What’s the greatest breakdown of all time?
Oh my God. It’s gotta be [Bleeding Through’s] “Love Lost in a Hail of Gun Fire,” brother. It’s gotta be. Watching the video and seeing the spin kick at that moment, listening to that droning keyboard pitch-shift — shit changed my life forever. If there is a moment of my history that pointed me in a different trajectory, that would arguably be one of the biggest ones.
What is the best pop song?
I would have said “Beat It” by Michael Jackson, but I feel like that’s more of a rock song than pop. So, of course, it’s Taylor Swift. I do think that “Blank Space” is the most embodiment of a pop song that she has. It’s just so gigantic and awesome, so we’ll go with that.
What’s the greatest decade for music?
The 2000s. But that’s because it’s the decade where I really came into my own, in terms of discovery. Otherwise, I would say the Nineties, because I do feel like there’s so much variation in the Nineties music world.
What’s the greatest dream — musical or otherwise — that you’ve yet to achieve?
I think just the full realization of what it is that I want to do in, like, production-wise for a headline tour. We have been able to put on variations of what I see as the ultimate Motionless show, but we just don’t have the budget, or the space, or the tour. We’re not big enough yet to do what I think would be the equivalent of what my favorite shows that other bands have done. I’ve seen Muse put on the most insane shows. I’ve seen that Rob Zombie show I talked about. There’s Rammstein. So something of that caliber is what I still have yet to do.