Formation and early years (2004–2009) Motionless in White was founded in summer of 2004 by members Chris Cerulli, who played guitar and lead vocals, Angelo Parente on drums, Frank Polumbo on guitar and Kyle White on bass during high school. For their first two shows at the Northeast Fair in Pittston, PA, the band was known as "One Way Ticket" and then as "When Breathing Stops" for the remainder of 2004. On New Year's Day of 2005, they settled on their current name. Chris Motionless and other members have noted bands such as
Poison the Well,
Slipknot,
Marilyn Manson,
Johnny Cash,
Depeche Mode, and other musical groups as their inspiration. In 2005, they released their self-distributed
demo. Within the year after the release of their demo, new member Josh Balz was added as the band's keyboardist, Frank Polumbo took over on bass and new members, Michael Costanza and Thomas "TJ" Bell, were added to the band as the new guitarists, moving Chris Motionless solely to lead vocals. After touring in support of
The Whorror, Motionless in White had written enough songs to complete a full-length album. The album was named
When Love Met Destruction.
When Love Met Destruction was recorded in 2008 initially at Soundmine recording studio then finished at Zach Neil's home by Dave Cutrone and Zach Neil, and was released the same year on Masquerade Recordings. Neil added the band to his stage on the Warped tour with the new record in hand and the band quickly caught the attention of Shawn Milke from
Alesana who offered to manage the band. Shortly thereafter Bob Becker of
Fearless Records contacted Zach Neil to make an offer to buy the band's recording contract and sign the band to Fearless. The band and Neil agreed and Tragic Hero was offered to incubate the first official release to help grow the band leading up to their Fearless debut. The band was never actually signed to Tragic Hero Records. The band parted ways with guitarist Michael Costanza and brought in current guitarist Ryan Sitkowski as his replacement. Despite being signed to Fearless before the months leading up to the release of the EP form of
When Love Met Destruction, it was distributed through Tragic Hero on February 17, 2009.
Creatures and line-up change (2009–2011) After the release of
When Love Met Destruction, bassist Frank Polumbo departed Motionless in White for unknown reasons, leaving
Bellevue, Washington native, Ricky "Horror" Olson as their new permanent bass player in October 2009. Months later, Motionless in White entered the studio during May 2010 to record their debut full-length,
Creatures with Andrew Wade as the chosen producer. The record's first single, "Abigail", premiered in
Revolver Magazine on August 30 and was the released on
iTunes the day after. A music video for the song was released a few months afterwards, along with following music videos over the next 2 years for title track "Creatures", the first track of the record "Immaculate Misconception" and a live music video for "Puppets (The First Snow)" which was filmed during the band's summer on The All Stars Tour in 2011.
Creatures was released on October 12, 2010, through Fearless, and claimed the 175th slot on the
Billboard Top 200 charts, and No. 6 on the
Heatseekers chart. On Wednesday May 4, 2011, guitarist Thomas Joseph "TJ" Bell was fired from the band. Reasons for the matter explained from Bell's perspective were that while he was handling bass substitution duties for
Escape the Fate, he was expected to meet along with the rest of Motionless in White in Orlando, Florida by that tour's end. According to the band, Bell left in the middle of Motionless in White's tour schedule to fill-in as a bassist for Escape the Fate and also did not inform the rest of the members early enough in advance that he would not be available during those weeks. Motionless in White stated "If our live performance didn't heavily depend on having 2 guitarists then it wouldn't have been a huge deal to us... but unfortunately having one guitar player in a band like ours causes your show to suffer greatly. We agreed to let TJ go," along with an explanation about how they experienced many disagreements with Bell throughout the years of being a band.
Infamous (2012–2014) In early 2012, Motionless in White contributed to the
Kerrang! Metallica The Black Album: Covered on the song, "My Friend of Misery." Motionless in White decided on working with two separate producers to accomplish a very wide array of sounds and styles for Infamous. It was then announced that Infamous was to be produced by
Jason Suecof and musician
Tim Sköld. On September 25 "Devil's Night" was released as the first single for the album. On October 9, their second single "If It's Dead, We'll Kill It" was released. On November 13, 2012, the music video for the single "Devil's Night" was released, along with the full album itself.
Infamous initially hit No. 53 on the
Billboard 200, No. 19 on Top Rock Albums, No. 9 on Top Independent Albums, and No. 5 on Top Hard Rock Albums. Motionless in White's ex-drummer, Angelo Parente, announced his departure from the band on March 11 via Tumblr, saying 'After doing this since I was 17, the nonstop touring, and everything else that comes with the life of a musician has finally caught up with me.'. He has left the band on good terms, and there is no sign of internal rifts. Brandon Richter formally of 'The Witch Was Right' was announced as the replacement drummer on April 23, 2013. This action left Chris Motionless as the band's last original member. On April 23, the band released the third single from
Infamous, "America", accompanied by a lyric video. On June 3, another video, directed by
Slipknot percussionist
Shawn Crahan, was released for the single. The video also starred
Slipknot percussionist
Chris Fehn. On June 11, 2013, Motionless in White released the Deluxe Edition of Infamous, featuring remixed and remastered versions of all the original tracks, alongside two new songs, remixes by
Celldweller,
Combichrist and Ricky Horror, and re-recorded drums by Richter. Motionless in White did their first full UK tour in September 2013 with
The Defiled and
Glamour of the Kill. They later supported acts such as
In This Moment on the 'Hellpop Tour' in October to November and
All That Remains in November to December 2013. Motionless in White performed at the 2013
Mayhem Festival.
Reincarnate (2014–2016) On January 23, 2014, the band announced a short headlining tour in March with
The Plot in You,
Like Moths to Flames,
For the Fallen Dreams and
The Defiled with
For Today appearing in San Antonio. Following the tour the band would enter the studio to work on their follow-up to their 2012 album,
Infamous. On February 5, Motionless in White was announced to play the Vans Warped Tour on the main stage. The same day, the band confirmed that they will be covering "
Du hast" by
Rammstein for the
Punk Goes... compilation series,
Punk Goes 90s Vol. 2. Later that month, drummer Brandon Richter released a statement that he will no longer be part of the band; however, he has thanked all of the support he has gained and has left on good terms, although he won't give out any specific reasons to leaving the band. In an interview with
Rock Sound magazine, Chris Motionless expressed that recording the third album was much easier compared to
Infamous as "...the timeframe worked against me, and there was an inner conflict going on, trying to move into a different style of music and making a lot of mistakes as I went." He stated that the album's sound will contain the aggressiveness 'Creatures' had which 'Infamous' lacked in and will also have a more consistent style. The band stated that they remain as a quintet and will be working with touring and session drummers. On June 11, Fearless Records released a video featuring the album's artwork and contained a teaser for their next upcoming single of the same name, which was to be released on July 1 however was delayed to July 8. The band was announced as a support act for
A Day to Remember's tour titled
Parks & Devastation Tour that takes place throughout September and October, and will be supporting them alongside
Bring Me the Horizon and
Chiodos. The band also announced a co-headline tour with
gothic metal band
Lacuna Coil in Europe, with the
gothic metal band
Devilment (fronted by
Cradle of Filth frontman
Dani Filth) supporting them. The tour started at the end of October continuing through November. The band was announced as one of the acts to perform in the
South by So What?! festival in March at QuikTrip Park in Grand Prairie. During the summer of 2015 Motionless in White toured along with Slipknot, Lamb of God, and Bullet for My Valentine as part of the ''Summer's Last Stand Tour'' running from July 24 to September 5.
Graveyard Shift (2016–2018) Vocalist Chris Cerulli has stated that their new album will not be released through
Fearless Records. On June 23, 2016, Motionless In White released the single titled "570", from the band's forthcoming studio album, which will be released via
Roadrunner Records. In the fall of 2016, the band embarked on the Nocturnal Underground tour with
Breaking Benjamin and
Korn. On October 31, Roadrunner announced the album was to be titled
Graveyard Shift. The band reached out to the fans with a contest to design the new album's artwork. 2017 2023 On January 10, 2017, keyboardist Josh Balz announced his departure from the band after 10 full years. He cited that he wanted more time available to run his oddities parlor, "The Strange and Unusual". On January 26, the band released the second single from
Graveyard Shift, titled "Eternally Yours". A day later, it was revealed that
Graveyard Shift is set to be released on May 5, 2017. The band also revealed they were opening an artwork contest for the new album, the winner of which would have their artwork featured for
Graveyard Shift. On March 3, the band revealed the album's official artwork created by Crystal Johnson and tracklist, followed by the release of their third single, "LOUD (Fuck It)". On April 30, Motionless in White premiered their song "Rats", a few days before the initial album drop. After the album was released, the band embarked on the Half God Half Devil tour with
In This Moment, touring across the United States and to multiple areas around Europe. The band embarked on the US leg of their headlining tour; The Graveyard Shift Tour, running from September–October 2017 and will bring the tour to Europe in early 2018. Motionless In White was joined on the US portion of this tour by
Miss May I and
The Amity Affliction, along with special guest, William Control. As well as European/US legs from January to March 2018. On May 4, 2018, the band announced the departure of longtime bassist Devin "Ghost" Sola, citing personal mental health problems as a major factor. Former guitarist, TJ Bell, was later announced to be filling in, in regards to the duties needed for the Summer Warped Tour festival.
Disguise (2018–2021) On May 6, 2018, Chris Motionless announced via Instagram that a new record would be released in 2019. He claimed that he, along with Ryan Sitkowski and Ricky Olson, would begin full-time writing prior to touring with Warped Tour that summer. Throughout the summer of 2018, the band embarked on the final cross-country run of
Vans Warped Tour, spanning from June 21 to August 5, 2018. After the departure of Devin Sola, the band reunited with former guitarist TJ Bell for the tour. Once the tour wrapped, the band took the rest of the year off, with the exception of a few festivals, Halloween shows, and a club show in their hometown of Scranton, to work on the upcoming album. For their final appearances of 2018, Justin Morrow of
Ice Nine Kills toured with them on bass guitar. In early March, the band announced they would be touring over the summer with
Alice Cooper and
Halestorm. A few days later, they announced they would be embarking on a co-headliner with
Atreyu over the course of April and early May. The day prior to the Spring Invasion tour with
Atreyu beginning, the band began teasing new music through their social media accounts. On March 24, 2019, Motionless in White announced via Instagram that
Ice Nine Kills member, Justin Morrow would be leaving Ice Nine Kills and joining Motionless in White full-time on bass guitar. On April 17, the band announced their new album
Disguise set for release on June 7, 2019. On the same day, they released two singles off of the album titled "Disguise", which had been premiered at Earthday Birthday in Orlando a few days prior, and "Brand New Numb". On May 10, the band released their third single "Undead Ahead 2: The Tale of the Midnight Ride" and its corresponding music video. On June 5, a few days before the album was due to drop, the band premiered the song "Thoughts & Prayers" on
BBC's Radio 1's Rock Show with Daniel P. Carter. This was the first appearance of lead guitarist Ryan Sitkowski performing vocals on a record. On June 27, the band released a corresponding music video for their second single of the album, "Brand New Numb". On June 12, Motionless in White released a documentary on the recording and making of their fifth album
Disguise. The documentary consists of what it was like to make the album along with what the album means to the band. There are also clips of studio jokes, guitar work, and of course vocals from the album. While the documentary unfolds, you can hear instrumentals of the whole album which makes watching the video more enjoyable for fans. The commentary has interviews of the band and what they think of the album. There are a lot of points in the video that discuss what the album means to them with Chris Motionless saying, "And with this record, I heavily gravitated towards writing about the long journey of admitting to myself that i'm struggling with a lot mentally while simultaneously being in the best and happiest place in my life, I was also in one of the darkest places and that contradiction of those feelings festered in my head and left me more and more confused by my life in general to which it then manifested into deeper and deeper destructive feelings and actions as my time ignoring it went on until one day I just lost it and broke down and there begins basically the story of so many of these songs." Before the band was set to embark on their "Disguise Tour" in Europe, the band embarked on "The Trick 'R Treat Tour" in which they were headliners, along with some east coast shows with
In This Moment. The band also announced that they would be touring with
Beartooth on "The Diseased and Disguised Tour" in January 2020. As 2019 came to a close, they announced multiple shows at European festivals over the summer such as
Rock am Ring and
Graspop Metal Meeting along with a show in Warsaw, Poland with
August Burns Red, marking their first time ever in the country of Poland. However, all of the European shows are cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, during a livestream interview, Chris Motionless announced that they were already working on their next album, and assured that the songs for the album will be heavier, although the recording could be delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. On September 9, the band released their cover of
The Killers' "
Somebody Told Me" on
streaming music services. On October 5, the band announced that they'll release a 10th anniversary re-issue of the album titled
Creatures X on October 9. On May 14, 2021, the band released the final of what they call "The Quarantine Experiments" in the form of a
synthwave-edition of their song "Voices". On August 20, the band released a new single titled "Timebomb".
Scoring the End of the World and upcoming seventh studio album (2022–present) On March 7, 2022, the band announced that they are planning to release new music on Friday, March 11, with a 30-second video teaser hinting at some potentially new music. On that day, the band officially released the single "Cyberhex" featuring Lindsay Schoolcraft along with its music video. At the same time, they officially released the cover and track list for their sixth studio album,
Scoring the End of the World, which was released on June 10, 2022. On April 14, the band unveiled the second single "
Masterpiece" and its corresponding music video. On May 13, the band released the third single "Slaughterhouse" featuring Bryan Garris of
Knocked Loose. On June 3, one week before the album release, the band released the title track "Scoring the End of the World" featuring
Mick Gordon. In April 2023, the band announced a summer tour dubbed "The Dark Horizon Tour" which co-headlines with
In This Moment. Just a few weeks later, the band announced a fall tour with
Knocked Loose,
After the Burial, and
Alpha Wolf titled "The Touring The End of the World Tour. On July 7, 2023, the band announced the deluxe edition of the album which is set to be released on September 8, 2023. At the same time, the band officially revealed the track list. Motionless in White performed during the first night of
WWE's
WrestleMania XL on April 6, 2024, where they performed
Rhea Ripley's theme "Demon in Your Dreams" prior to her
Women's World Championship defence; Ripley is a long-time fan of the band and based much of her aesthetic as a wrestler upon Cerulli. In 2025, active members Cerulli, Mauro, Morrow, Olson, and Sitkowski, as well as former members Balz, Bell, and Parente, were inducted into the Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame. Motionless in White is currently working on a follow-up album to
Scoring the End of the World. The band is taking their time with its writing and recording, prioritizing quality over maintaining their momentum in popularity gains in the 2020s. The band was confirmed to be performing at the 2026
Sonic Temple music festival in
Columbus, Ohio. On January 28, 2026, the band released a new single titled "
Afraid of the Dark". In February, it became their first number 1 song
Billboard Hard Rock chart. The band are confirmed to be appearing at
Welcome to Rockville taking place in
Daytona Beach, Florida in May 2026. == Musical style and influences ==