Motionless In White have always had goth, synth, techno, and industrial elements in their music, but never have they been at the forefront of an album like they are on Decades. Instead of being a rehash of their same old hits, or a remastered compilation of their greatest hits like the title implies it shines a new light on the possibilities of their music abilities as artists. At their core MIW is a metalcore band, but under the surface there are a billion pieces of influence that have shaped their music into the testament to their artistry to today.
This is no way a deep analysis on the lyrical content or a commentary on the music itself, this is just the review from someone who loves music and has been a Motionless In White fan for more than a Decade.
Decades - [Deadass] Strong Graveyard Shift vibes. Very classic Motionless In White sound, this song is definitely the epitome of their established sound. Has similar elements to Queen for Queen and 570. I think it's the perfect title track, and the perfect opener for the album
log_in//crash_out - THE SMOOTH TRANSITION FROM DECADES OUTRO TO THIS INTRO. Sounds very much like it could belong on Scoring The End of The World, more specifically reminds me of Meltdown. The cheerleader style crowd vocals remind me of the kids in That's The Spirit by Bring Me The Horizon. THE BLEGH IS SO CRISPY.
R.I.P. - I LOVE THIS SONG. It's the spiritual predecessor to Eternally Yours and Porcelain. Yearning Vampire lover vibes, I am dying I need more of this. Skylar's female vocals blend so well with Chris'. Also the music video had me crying at 10 am, I love Lex and Chris.
Fight Like Hell - THIS IS MY BRUTALITY. Rhea Ripley how to be you. It has a very strong Nu-Metal sound to it. It's such a hype song, definitely see this on a lot of people's work out playlists. The pitch shift screech is scratching my brain so good. This is such a main character energy song.
Playing God ft. Corey Taylor - GIRL WHEN I TELL YOU THIS SONG MADE ME ASCEND ON FIRST LISTEN. Slaughterhouse Pt. 3 type beat. Corey Taylor is the perfect feature. Definitely also hear it as a sequel to Thoughts and Prayers and Soft. God I cannot even begin to explain how much the vocals on this are so good. Like a corn dog.....
All That I've Ever Known - The intro has very a STEOTW sound to it. This is the start of the more techno leaning songs. Lyrically this is one of my favourites. I love the drop, as a non raver whatever type of techno/electronic it is manages to fit well into a metal song.
Blood Rave ft. Anthony Martinez - HELLO BLADE CODED ASS SONG. TIME TO SHAKE FUCKING ASS. Anthony and Chris' voices blend so well. It sounds so much more like a Dark Divine song than a Motionless In White song, but I can still hear the MIW elements as well. This is vampire rave song if there ever was one. Definitely in my top 5. Another main character energy song.
Love at First Bite - The organ and synth intro hello techno goth. VAMPIRE CODED AS HELL. Chris is singing about fucking dead people again. "I'm a sucker for a good time" I'm sure you are, ya freak. I love Ricky's vocals on this. The 80s called and you know what, they fuck with this. Makes me think of The Lost Boys
Count Back From Zero - Another vampire rave coded song. I am loving all the techno mixed into this album, it works so well. It has like an 80s arcade, retro video game essence to it. This also sounds like a song I would shake ass to. This has a very sci-fi action movie soundtrack vibe.
Blood Pact - MY BELOVED. It has a very industrial sound. It's so.... crunchy, for lack of a better descriptor. I know he has worked with Motionless In White before and is a major influence, but I hear Tim Skold in this. I feel like I'm inside of a metal pipe, I am running out of ways to describe how this song make me feel. It's my absolute favourite.
Afraid Of The Dark - The first released song for this new Motionless in White era. Definitely a mix of heavier techno elements but still has elements of STEOTW. It was the perfect transitional song between the last album and the current one. A very good and crispy blegh. Lyrically this song is an emotional gut punch, in the best way.
Sunglasses At Night (Cover, Originally Corey Hart) - The 80s techno synth is so fitting. I don't even care that this is a cover. I love this song and feel like it fits Motionless very well. I cannot stop thinking of how it reminds me of Depeche Mode. If you hate this you hate fun. Batwing sunglasses are now a thing I feel I must obtain before I see MIW in Orlando.
Hollywood (Bonus Track) - Another vampire movie soundtrack sounding song. Lyrically embodying the whole "Sex, Drugs, Rock, and Roll" Stereotype that was common in the 80s. The Guitar solo on this song kills. It's very horny if you actually pay attention to the words.
Final thoughts: ✨️oooooh✨️ Chris you wanna be David from The Lost Boys so bad ✨️oooooh✨️ Very 80s techno inspired for sure, a lot of synth and electronic elements. The heavy sci-fi horror and 80s vampire movie elements, are very prevalent in the sound and themes throughout the album are perfect. But Mr Christopher Motionless can we talk about your obsession with fucking and dead people? This entire album is making me question if I really wanna go to a rave or if I just really want to be in a blade movie... I wanna be in the Blade Blood Rave. This is somehow something that isn't super out of the box for Motionless while still being a completely new and still experimental sound from them. This album is such an interesting mix of genres and influences while still keeping with the established Motionless in White sound.
The "Golden Hour" series has been Ateez's longest Album and Mini Album series. Much like the rest of series, the 5th edition is a testament to their art and music, there is a good mix of genres and Ateez really do take their experimentation to its limits. This album has a very sensual and flirty vibe to it. When it comes to Kpop I primarily base my listening off of the essence of the song, and how it makes me feel on an emotional level. This review is honestly more rooted in vibes and feelings than an analysis of music theory or style.
BAD - The lead single off the album, with a colourful music video that returns a little bit more to the lore implications of the Ateez storyline. The music video also features Chase Infiniti who is a phenomenal actress, who happens to be a hardcore Atiny. The intro of the song was teased at the end of the Adrenaline music video, with an image of the Sopro pumping like a heart, similar to the stand out choreography of the dance for the song. The song itself is very catchy. I don't know who or what it is, but whoever is influencing Hongjoong and Mingi to use latin inspirations for Ateez's music, keep going. There's an entire verse of Mingi wrapping in Spanish, mixed in with the English and Korean lyrics. From my own observation, this song is primarily San, Wooyoung, and Seonghwa as far as the non rap line vocal distribution. Yunho and Yeosang have their moments but they're not part of the primary vocal line for this song specifically. Jongho has his one major verse, and the adlibs but otherwise his vocals are barely present in the song.
Mamacita - Once again whoever is making Hongjoong and Mingi ride this Latin wave for their music influence, please do not stop. This song is SUPER flirty, like SUPER flirty. As far as my surface level knowledge of Spanish goes, every Spanish petname is used in this song. This song is heavy with the mixing of Spanish, English, and Korean as well; to the point where Hongjoong says, 자기(Jagi), baby, and Cariño all in one line. This song is straight up sexy, it feels like getting hit on at a party, and once again I reiterate SUPER FLIRTY.
Toxin - My personal favourite off the album. If the previous songs were sexy and flirty, this one I can only describe as more sensual. It is a tone down instrumentally and pace wise from the preceding songs on the album--which makes it feel more intimate--still very high on the flirty, sexy aspect. The pre-chorus feels like reassurance that draws you in. Meanwhile the chorus feels like a build up to a sexual tension, and like the rise to some kind of peak. While the verses; especially the rap lines' verses, feel like it all pouring out like an overfilled cup; not to be too on the nose--Hongjoong literally has a line about "spilling over" in the last verse--for lack of better words the verses are the climax.
Fallin' - From the intro feels a little bit more like a song that would fit on Golden Hour Part 4, the beat gives me similar vibes to Adrenaline, just a little bit more toned down on the intensity. Sticking with the consistent essence that this album seems to have, this song has very sensual vibe to it as well. This song feels like it's all around you like you're floating in it, which makes sense for the title, it feels very intimate. It's atmospheric in a way, and it sucks you in; there's a line in the song where Mingi says "You're like a monster, you swallow me, sure". But that feeling of being swallowed is especially strong with Yeosang's vocals, his voice is so deep I love it. This song sounds like what I imagine floating in nothingness would feel like, which once again lines up perfectly with a line in the song where Hongjoong mentions an "endless abyss".
Body - Instrumentally this one is the "softest", but it still carries the same sensual vibe as the other songs on the album. This song lyrically is on the sad and reminiscent side. There's an element of desire and dare I say, yearning, in this song. There's not as much of the flirty vibe from the previous songs, this once sounds more like begging and apologetic.
Final Thoughts: This album has a very flirty, sexual, and sensual vibe. Whether it's super obvious, like in Mamacita or more subtle and poetic like in Fallin', this album is definitely an expression of love and deep emotion that I feel like they expressed in a more intimate sense than an over the top way. Like i had said in the intro this is a display of Ateez's artistry and influences at work. Their ability to mix genres, and experiment with their sound and still have a consistent through line for an album. I can't say for sure I have a favourite entry of this Golden Hour series, but this one definitely did not disappoint and is a testament to Ateez as artist.
Invocation To The Muse - Similar spoken word intro to previous albums, but feels so much more raw and honest. Really sets the tone of vengefulness that Andy has been consistent about when discussing the album. The religious trauma undertones are strong
Vindicate - STRAIGHT INTO IT GOD DAMN, the intro scream is an incredible and wild start. The music videp is honestly a whole separate art from the song itself, incredible title track. Vampire Andy is everything I have ever wanted. Once again strong religious trauma messaging and very visceral imagery. This song as an opening song really throws in your face how much heavier this album is compared to any previous Black Veil Brides record.
Certainty - This one also starts off on an interesting note, the hymnal vocals in the opening set the kind of ominous tone of the song. This music video also has very interesting imagery, the association of goat imagery and Satan is something Andy has talked about when discussing this song. The screams in this are so good.
Bleeders - We love nerdy theatre shit in this house, especially a goth classic like Sweeney Todd. This is the oldest of the songs released for the album so it's the one everyone's gotten the most familiar with. More tame than the 2 preceding songs but still has the very signature Black Veil Brides sound. This one despite being heavily inspired by Sweeney Todd has the touch of Andy's personal revenge agenda tied into the sound and imagery of the music video.
Hallelujah - My personal favourite of the singles released prior to the album release. The chorus vocals in the intro that then go straight into the screaming vocals and riff, I am obsessed. The visualiser is one of my favourite music videos as well cause it really tells the story of the song. This one is the most explicit in the imagery and messaging about rebellion against religion. The visuals tell a slightly different story in the tale of Adam and Eve, and their corruption in the Garden of Eden
Cut (ft. Lilith Czar) - Oh a ballad, makes sense if Lilith is featured. NEVERMIND THEY SKIPPED IT LMAO??? I guess no one gets to hear this song until release day.
Alive - WHAT THE FUCK. THE SCREAMING. This has very early 2000s metalcore vibes, sounds very reminiscent of We Stitch These Wounds.
Purgatory (Overture IV) - I LOVE THE OVERTURES. JINXX AND HIS VIOLIN. The overtures are always a perfect break from the intensity that changes the pace of the album while still fitting in perfectly. It does also keep us prepared that there is still more ahead, and ties together the first half and second half of the album.
Revenger (ft. Machine Head) - The last song they released prior to the album's release. The instrumentals are super intense and heavy. You can clearly hear the trash metal elements in this, with the Machine Head feature that makes perfect sense.
Sorrow - This feels a lot more reminiscent of their Self Titled album. I feel that this one is the song off the album that is the epitome of the Black Veil Brides signature sound. This feels like a song that would fit in to any of their previous eras, with a little bit of a touch that makes is more obvious that it's from a newer era, but this is definitely the most Black Veil Brides sounding song off the album.
Grace (Interlude) - Another instrumental. I just really love Violin on BVB Records.
Ave Maria - WOW. This one has a very strong trash influence to it too, like Revenger. This one reminds me of the songs from the The Night EP. Definitely strong on the heavy instrumentals especially following the beautiful instrumentals of the interlude. I love the drums on this one a lot. Somehow I can feel the essence of what the original Ave Maria song signified in this, primarily through the lyrics.
Woe & Pain - Loving the spooky piano off the bat. This one sounds like the more recent Black Veil Brides sound. Very similar tonally to something off of The Phantom Tomorrow. A little bit more tame compared to the preceding songs. This is the song they sneak peak premiered on a WWE Broadcast.
Eschaton - This one sounds similar to something off of Wretched and Divine, the kind of story telling moody ballad. It is meant to be a conclusion to the album, and wraps up the album and it's primary theme of revenge and religious trauma very well.
Final Thoughts
(Currently writing this while still watching the making film so excuse my commentary that I slip in between.)
This album is the heaviest Black Veil Brides record to date, they were not lying about that. However to me, as a long time fan--who has experienced many eras of the band-- it also appears to be a tribute to their history as band, there are individual songs on the album that sound like they could fit perfectly in other Black Veil Brides eras. In the making film Andy talks about how there was significantly less outsider input--which I feel is the reason why this record sounds the way it does-- it still sounds very them. There are a lot of different metal elements and genres that clearly influenced different songs on the album, but the tone and vibe of this album is clear and consistent from the get. From the beginning in the spoken word intro--which is also a signature element of a Black Veil Brides record--to the beautiful instrumental overture--Jinxx was conducting an orchestra for the overture, legend behaviour-- all the way to the slower song that caps off this record. I have never not been excited for a new Black Veil Brides album, but I can say the songs released set my bar pretty high and they just continued to deliver even better and better the further into the album we got.
The Album Officially comes out Friday, 8 May 2026.
Black Veil Brides fan of not I would recommend people give it a listen.
