19.05.2025 Motionless In White

Graspop Metal Meeting

Dessel (Belgium)

After the rather gentle sounds of Charlotte Wessels in the Metal Dome, it was time to head back out into the sunshine at the South Stage to catch the much heavier tones of the American band Motionless In White. It wasn’t their first appearance at Graspop, but it was their debut on the Main Stage.
Even though vocalist Chris “Motionless” Cerulli wasn’t feeling well, he didn’t let that stop him from putting everything he had into the performance and turning it into a truly outstanding show. You couldn’t hear any limitations in his voice at all. He was joined by Ricky “Horror” Olson, both vocally and on guitar. Bassist Justin Morrow, with his braids and makeup giving him the look of a horror clown, also supported Cerulli vocally throughout the set. The lineup was rounded out by Ryan Sitkowski on second guitar and Vinny Mauro behind the drum kit.
Musically, the band focused solely on their last three albums. They opened with “Disguise” and “Thoughts & Prayers” from the 2019 album "Disguise", interrupted only by “Necessary Evil” from the 2017 album "Graveyard Shift". That already stirred up plenty of movement on and in front of the stage before they transitioned into the block of songs from their current album "Scoring The End Of The World", which is already three years old. The band had no trouble wrapping the crowd around their fingers - there was moshing, circle pits kept opening up, and hands were constantly in the air. It was definitely a successful Main Stage debut. Unfortunately, their slot lasted only an hour before they said goodbye with “Eternally Yours.” It could easily have gone on longer.
All in all, I was very surprised. I had only checked out the band briefly on YouTube before the festival, and I had no idea such a massive wave of concentrated metalcore would hit me. As mentioned above, you couldn’t tell for a second that Chris Cerulli was supposedly under the weather. The others were constantly whirling across the stage as well, effortlessly pulling the crowd along with them. They played many festivals this summer, and I have to say: deservedly so. A band that is absolutely worth seeing and will no doubt continue on its path without hesitation.

Setlist:

Disguise
Necessary Evil
Thoughts & Prayers
Masterpiece
Sign Of Life
Slaughterhouse
Meltdown
Voices
Scoring The End Of The World
Soft
Eternally Yours

Weblinks:

	Motionless In White Homepage of the US American band Motionless In White.
	Graspop Metal Meeting Homepage of the Graspop Metal Meeting Festival at Dessel (Belgium).