Instant Impressions: 'Scoring the End of the World' by Motionless in White

Today is the ninth of June, which means that Motionless in White’s sixth studio album, Scoring the End of the World, is now out. For those who may not know by now, the metalcore outfit from Scranton, Pennsylvania is one that I’ve been a fan of for a long time now, and they’ve become one of my favorite bands to listen to over the years, so the hype I’ve had for their follow-up to 2019’s Disguise cannot be properly verbalized.

The band has a history of evolving and improving both musically and lyrically with each successive release, almost making their previous work feel obsolete as a result of how great their newest product is. Disguise was a very emotionally relatable album, particularly from the lyrical perspective, containing heavy and complex themes of introspection and coping with external adversities. In the time since that album was released, there was a global pandemic that caused lockdowns and periods of isolation along with an emphasis on mental well-being and personal reflection, so I’m curious to see how much of an influence the circumstances of the world over the past couple years have had on the lyrics for this latest album.

After several years of being a fan and having finally seen Motionless in White in concert for the first time just a month and a half ago, along with having the preliminary singles ‘Cyberhex,’ ‘Masterpiece,’ ‘Slaughterhouse,’ and the title track ‘Scoring the End of the World’ on repeat since their individual releases, my hype level for this album is at an all-time high. I’m glad the album’s finally out because I simply can’t wait any longer, so here are my real-time reactions as I listen, feel free to listen along with me. Here we go:

1.     Meltdown (4:28)

• Definitely feels like what was going through all our minds at the beginning of the pandemic, what a time
• Super catchy chorus, plus the transition back to the second verse is absolutely FILTHY and I love it
• THIS BREAKDOWN, LET’S GO!
• That didn’t feel like four and a half minutes, that flew by
• This is just the first song and I already want to run through walls, great opener

2.     Sign of Life (3:40)

• Haven’t even gotten thirty seconds in and it’s impossible to not headbang
• Chorus reminds me of ‘Queen for Queen’ off of 2017’s Graveyard Shift, sounds a lot like Breaking Benjamin too. I’m here for it
• These synths are giving me big Creatures vibes while still sounding like something new

3.     Werewolf (3:32)

• Just looking at the title, the horror fan in me is simply saying, “I like werewolves, werewolves are fun.” Really curious to hear what this song’s all about
• Very synthy from the start; it’s reminding me of previous songs like ‘Infamous’ and ‘Legacy’ while still sounding very much like its own thing
• Obviously there’s a lot of spooky lyrics talking about howling at the moon and, you know, werewolf things, but these lyrics are probably hitting harder than they should – “I can’t tell where you end and where I start,” + “No one can break my heart like I can,” I mean come on
• This might sound weird, but hear me out – I’m hearing Michael Jackson influences in this. I mean, ‘Thriller,’ ‘Somebody’s Watching Me,’ ‘Blood on the Dance Floor,’ someone please tell me you hear it too
• I wasn’t expecting the song to sound like this, but I’m really vibing with it

4.     Porcelain (3:36)

• I might be reading too much into it, but the lyrics in the intro/chorus feel like a good transition from the previous song to this one. I wonder if that was planned
• Still can’t get over how much Chris Motionless’s vocals have improved since I first started listening to the band back in 2013
• I love mid-tempo songs like this, I really hope this is a permanent thing for Motionless in White because they make them so well

5.     Slaughterhouse (4:23)

• There always has to be at least one no-holds-barred heavy song on a MIW album, and this is a great addition to the catalog
• Absolutely LIVING for these lyrics
• This would go so hard live
• I’ll be honest - I’m not a big Knocked Loose fan, so the guest vocals by Bryan Garris aren’t exactly doing it for me. Nonetheless, this song’s still a banger and I’ll continue to listen to it at least three times a day
• The last minute *chef’s kiss*

6.     Masterpiece (3:26)

• Feels like a sequel to ‘Another Life,’ and I think I speak for every Motionless in White fan when I say I’m more than okay with that
• Lyrically, I almost hear parallels to ‘Cobwebs’ in a way. It’s a similar theme of having trouble with letting the past go, but this is much more melancholic
• I love how the song gets really heavy for a minute during the bridge but then goes right back to being heartfelt and emotive like before. It makes that brief switch even more impactful
• The fact that Motionless in White is able to write slow and sad songs that’s just as good as their fast and heavy stuff brings me next-level joy, I’m loving this

7.     Cause of Death (4:03)

• Classic MIW; a screaming verse right into a clean chorus, we love to see it
• These transitions hit so hard, I don’t know how they do it
• I won’t lie though - this breakdown hits even harder, good God
• So glad that rhythm guitarist Ricky Olson is singing more, he’s got a great voice and it’s nice to hear him in the outro

8.     We Become the Night (3:31)

• Musically, the first thing that popped into my head was ‘You Get Me High’ by Skillet – the tempo, the synths, the chord progressions, the vocal patterns – they just sound similar to me
• Now that I think about it, it kind of sounds like Sum 41’s ‘Breaking the Chain,’ too. That might be more of a reach, but I hear it. It’s obviously in Motionless in White’s style, but I definitely hear some outside influences
• Lyrically feels reminiscent of ‘Slaughterhouse,’ while musically closer to “</c0de>,” which is a combination I didn’t know I needed until now
• This is definitely going to get stuck in my head

9.     Burned at Both Ends II (3:57)

• We love sequel songs
• With the first ‘Burned at Both Ends’ being one of my favorite songs from the Infamous album, this is the song I was most excited to listen to when the tracklist for this album got released
• I can see the lyrical similarities to the first one, of course, but musically this sequel sounds NOTHING like the first. I think that’s poetic in a way, an example of how much the band has evolved over the years while still being true to their core sound
• This wasn’t what I anticipated, but I still revere this track, nonetheless

10.  B.F.B.T.G.: Corpse Nation (3:34)

• I like how ‘Broadcasting From Beyond the Grave” is becoming a recurring thing, between Disguise and this album. Hopefully this continues
• I’ve only gotten past the first verse and this is already a big step-up from the previous BFBTG installment, ‘Death Inc.’
• Lyrics remind me of ‘Thoughts & Prayers,’ gotta love it
• Well, that one went by fast

11.  Cyberhex (4:35)

• This was the perfect song to choose as the lead single
• Having listened to this one since it dropped back in March, I can confirm this song gets better and better the more you listen to it
• So glad I got to hear this live when I saw them
• Probably my favorite outro of the whole album to this point

12.  Red, White & Boom (3:18)

• LOVE the lyrical callbacks to ‘A-M-E-R-I-C-A’ from Infamous
• Even though the lyrics are pretty serious, the song still feels fun
• I never really got into Beartooth, but these guest vocals from Caleb Shomo during the bridge are making me want to rethink that decision
• The way both vocalists go back and forth with each other in the last chorus is really cool to hear
• I don’t know what I was expecting with this song when I first saw the tracklist, but it wasn’t this (that’s meant as a compliment, by the way)

13.  Scoring the End of the World (3:48)

• The last single, the album closer, and the title track – quite the trifecta
• I can see why the band named the album after this song; it sums up the lyrical themes nicely, and it’s also a good mix of what to expect from the album musically (with it being the last track on the album I don’t know how helpful that’d be, but it makes sense in hindsight, okay?)
• Again, can we just take the time to appreciate the vocals of Chris Motionless? I can’t say enough how much better he’s gotten with both his clean singing and his screams
• And we’ve got Ricky in the outro here too, let’s go!
• Yeah, that was the best song to close the album. What a ride

As previously stated, Motionless in White have always been a band focused on evolution and progression, and that comes through clear as day with this release. In the buildup to the release, frontman Chris Motionless said in interviews that video game soundtracks had an influence on this album, and I can hear those inspirations even as someone who doesn’t play video games. The synthetic sound effects combine really well with the classic instrumentation of the band, and the introduction of those elements adds a significant impact to a great deal of the album.

I’m going to have to listen through this a few more times, of course, but I can say without any doubt that doing so will feel like anything but a chore. I really connected with the Disguise album and had a hard time believing Motionless in White would be able to top it with their next album like they traditionally do with their records (which isn’t a doubt on their abilities, that’s just a testament to how much I enjoyed and vibed with that album). However, I think they’ve come very close to doing so here, and this just might be my new favorite Motionless album. It’s as if they took everything I loved about Disguise, with songs like ‘Headache,’ ‘Thoughts & Prayers,’ ‘Holding On To Smoke,’ and ‘Another Life,’ and expanded on those themes, both musically and lyrically, on Scoring the End of the World.

I love how they brought out the theme of individual/personal duality to the forefront by having some of the songs connect and correlate with each other, like ‘Werewolf’ to ‘Porcelain’ and ‘Sign of Life’ to ‘Cause of Death.’ As a collective entity, the whole album does contain a lot of similar subjects in terms of lyrics, but its also very consistent musically, arguably the most consistent Motionless has ever sounded on one album. They found the perfect balance of having musical continuity from song to song without sounding monotonous. Overall, with all the hype and anticipation that I felt towards this record, it was well worth the wait and I’ll have this on a loop for the next few weeks.

This will most likely change the more I listen to it, but as far as first impressions go, here are my top 3 standout tracks:

-       Meltdown

-       Cause of Death

-       Burned at Both Ends II

If you listened along and liked the album anywhere near as much as I did, you can buy or stream Scoring the End of the World here.

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