Tales From the Pit: Motionless In White Sets Fiery Ablaze To Conclude the Touring The End Of The World Tour

On October 29th, 2023- Motionless in White made their last stop at MGM Music Hall in Boston Massachusetts to close out their "Touring The End Of The World Tour". They bring special guests Knocked Loose, After The Burial and Alpha Wolf.

First band to take the stage on the Touring the End Of The World Tour was Australian band Alpha Wolf. Alpha Wolf consists of members Lochie Keogh on vocals, Sabian Lynch and Scottie Simpson on guitars, John Arnold on bass and lastly Mitch Fogarty on drums.

To kick off the final set of the night, they began their set with “Rot in Pieces” from their latest album ‘A Quiet Place to Die’ that was released back in 2020. Since they walked on stage, madness immediately began with a pit opening up and crowd surfers knew what they had to do. At one point I’ve seen so many crowd surfers getting lifted up at the same time, they all seemed to be on top of each other.

Since Halloween was just days away, there were people who showed up in Halloween costumes. I haven’t been to a concert close to Halloween so it was definitely a change in scenery. Keogh pointed out how dedicated fans were for this holiday and how it was their first time touring in North America around Halloween season with half of the crowd being dressed up in costumes. This led to him making a speech about how irresponsible it was to have them perform on this tour. Keogh says “Five irresponsible fucks who planned this tour being Motionless in White”. This was absolutely hilarious and beautiful to hear the fans roaring for Motionless in White.

The third song they performed on their set was “Sub Zero”. Lynch was calling out to those in the pit and told them to split the floor in half and to push everybody to the side to create a massive wall of death. Since I was in the photo pit, I stood on the barricade platform to get a good view of what chaos was about to go down. Fans knew Alpha Wolf wasn’t playing around when they said they wanted a massive pit. As the beat dropped, so many bodies collided into one another. From past times I’ve watched Alpha Wolf perform, I’ve never seen such a ginormous pit before.

As we concluded their set, they finished with a heavy banger. But before closing out their set of the night, Lynch was throwing his guitar high up into the air as well as aggressively hitting his guitar pedals so fans are able to hear the whammy and distortion hit the room. To close out their set, they performed one of their most well known tracks known as “Akudama” which also came off their album ‘A Quiet Place to Die’. Everybody in the band called for crowd surfers to make their way from the back to the front and it was absolute madness. I thought it was really fun and I even crowd surfed. Alpha Wolf definitely deserves to have a headlining North American tour because of how talented they are and even how energetic the crowd was.

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Following Alpha Wolf was After the Burial. After the Burial is an American progressive metalcore band located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are currently signed under Sumerian Records. Members of this band are followed by Anthony Notarmaso on vocals, Trent Hafdahl on guitars Adrian Oropeza on bass and Dan Carle on drums.

After the Burial has been around since 2004 and they’ve been playing many shows and festivals. At some point during their set, they make a speech about how close of a relationship they have with Motionless in White. After the Burial has been touring with MIW since they performed at Warped Tour together back in 2011 and has gained a stronger bond since then.

To open their set, they start off with a banger known as “In Flux” from their album ‘Evergreen’ which was released in April of 2019. This was the perfect song to open their set with. The production of the song live was phenomenal. The instrumentals to this song with the heavy riffs, blast beat drums and Notarmasos vocals were incredible.

The second song they performed on their set was one of their top most played songs with over 39 million streams known as “Lost In The Static”. Hafdahl’s skills in guitar are so fascinating when first playing the introduction riff to the song. As a guitar player myself, I definitely enjoyed witnessing such talent within a guitarist.

As they make their way to their final song of the night, Notarmaso calls for everybody in the room to crowd surf during their other top streamed song “Behold the Crown”. There were endless amounts of crowd surfers and I kind of felt bad for security because of the flashing lights making it difficult to see how many people they were needing to catch. Overall being my second time seeing this band perform live, I would love to see them again on a future headlining or co-headlining tour.

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Oh my goodness it is time for metalcore and hardcore legends Knocked Loose. Knocked Loose resides in Oldham Country, Kentucky and is currently signed to Pure Noise Records. This band is accompanied by Bryan Garris on vocals, Issac Hale and Nicko Calderon on guitars , Kevin Otten on bass, and lastly Kevin “Pacsun” Kaine on drums. To begin their set, they began playing “Deep In The Willow” which was released back in June of this year. Immediate chaos took place when this song came on. As the breakdown was about to hit, Garris asks the crowd quickly “What’s my name?” and in response to the song, the crowd shouts “KNOCKED LOOSE MOTHER FUCKER”. A group of crowd surfers made their way to security. I’m surprised I didn’t get kicked in the back of my head.

Next song from their set was “God Knows” which came from their latest EP “A Tear in the Fabric of Life” which was released back in 2021. During this performance, Motionless in White's sound tech Logan Beaver took the stage and took over on vocals for this song. Garris started two stepping on stage and all you were able to see in the pit was everybody doing cart wheels, two stepping and swinging their arms. Good thing I did not make my way into that pit because knowing my luck, I probably would’ve come out with broken glasses.

As they were about to perform “Where Light Divides the Holler”, Hale screamed into the microphone and told the crowd to look at the person next to you and behind you and commanded you to push and shove them multiple times. I took it upon myself and some friends dared me to go into the pit for that song so obviously I had to. I haven’t seen so many people fall to the ground before. I almost slipped myself but luckily I was able to pick up my feet and stay still. Overall it was something to remember about and somewhat embarrassing seeing how I almost fell in front of thousands of people but I doubt anybody was paying attention enough to remember me.

Before we made our way towards the end of their set, Garris made a little speech to the crowd by saying how grateful he was to have Motionless in White bring them out on this banger tour. He mentioned how when they would tour in Boston, they would always play at smaller venues to now one of the biggest venues in the state. The second to last song they performed was their most well known song “Counting Worms”. To those who know the song or have yet seen Knocked Loose live, we all knew what to do for this song. Everybody in the venue didn’t even give Garris a chance to scream the lyrics because everybody else took it upon themselves. Hearing everybody’s voices scream “ARF ARF” had to be one of the most brutal but fun concert experiences ever.

To close out their final show on the Touring the End of the World tour, they closed the night out with “Everything is Quiet Now” which is the second single released followed by “Deep in the Willow”. The band thanked Boston for having the most energy they’ve seen yet on tour. The chaos wasn’t finished yet because Hale once again yelled into the microphone for everybody from the barricade to the back of the pit to split the room in half. Successfully everybody listened to his orders and once the song started, everybody all ran towards each other and lots of pushing and shoving took place but it was still an enjoyable experience. I would definitely recommend checking out Knocked Loose and would highly suggest seeing them perform live.

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Finally the last act of the Touring the End Of the World tour we have Motionless in White. On each night of the tour, there were at least two different set lists which was bizarre but very mysterious considering fans would not know what to expect, leaving them with a surprise. Before the band took the stage, fans were given a little video with the members talking about the preparation of the tour, how much dedication and effort they had put in with the production of this tour. The video itself seems like a tour vlog that guitarist Ricky Olson would post on Youtube. Once Chris Motionless made his appearance in the video, he decided to troll his fans by having the camera pointing to him pressing play on “Darude Sandstorm”. After he pushed play on the screen, it turned into a thirty second countdown with the song playing in the background. Fans were jumping and screaming as the time started ticking.

After the countdown finished, fans started roaring as all the members made their appearance on stage. Motionless in White is a metalcore band from Scranton Pennsylvania, formed in 2004. Members are Chris “Motionless” Ceruli on vocals, Ricky “Horror” Olsen on rhythm guitar, Ryan Sitkowski on lead guitars, Justin Morrow on bass and lastly Vinny Chenzo on drums.

The first song of the night was Meltdown which came from their latest album “Scoring the End of the World” which was released back in June of last year. Once the song started, there was a large amount of pyro used. One thing I will say is holy crap! This is my second time attending a show with pyro in the production and I was very pleased to be able to experience it again. Chris Motionless came out on stage wearing a trench coat kind of jacket and out of all the times I’ve seen this band live, he’s never worn something like that before. The aesthetic and the makeup the members all had on their face was absolutely admiring.

The third song of the set was for the old school Motionless in White fans. They performed “Immaculate Misconception” which was from their album ‘Creatures’ which was released back in 2009. For this song they had Lochie Keogh from Alpha Wolf take the stage to assist with the song. The smoke machines went absolutely insane during this song and the whole stage appeared foggy which gave it that creepy aesthetic. All the people from the barricade to the back of the pit were all banging their heads to this song and such high energy was released from everybody. Chris Motionless and Keogh’s vocals together were absolutely phenomenal and insane and I couldn’t have been more impressed. Hearing this song live for the first time is definitely something memorable. Once the breakdown was about to strike, everybody screamed the lyrics “Open your mind before your mouth” and what can I say??? WOW! So many fans are dedicated to this song whether they’re just getting into the band or have been listening to them for a long time.

Behind the masks and the outfits are daredevil rock and roll dancers known as the Cherry Bombs. Founded in 2012 by Alicia Taylor, the girls make a remarkable appearance throughout the Touring the End of the World tour. This tour is accompanied by Alicia Taylor, Talitha Thurston, Amanda Sahr, Kym “Possible”. These ladies deserve a lot of credit for the effort and dedication they have put into the performance for each song. In each song they dance during, they have to quickly change their outfits before the next song starts.

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During “Sign of Life”, they came out on stage with a hand saw against some metal plate, causing sparks to shoot through the air; in addition some were holding fire torches and waving them around. While “Thoughts and Prayers” was playing, Thurston was holding a book that resembled a bible and as soon as you opened the book, flames started coming out. Towards the end of the song, they all brought out water guns and sprayed the audience with water and honestly it was so refreshing considering how hot it was inside the venue.

For once the chaos calmed down as soon as “Masterpiece” made its way into the audience. This song has to be one of my favorites from the latest album since it touches fans' hearts and gives people a chance to strongly relate to the lyrics. Cerulis vocals were so powerful and beautiful live and I’ve seen so many fans in the crowd tear up. Once the lyrics said “Set it all ablaze” so many people went up to crowd surf as the pyro lit up the whole room. Experiencing it live was one to remember and I hope to hear it live again one day.

Halfway through the set, Chris Motionless decides to have a small chat with the crowd. He goes “who is here for some heavy shit?!” Immediately everybody knew which song was about to come down as soon as he said “I want you to repeat after me.. when I say one mutilation, you say under god!”. This gives fans a chance to spread open the pit just in time for “Slaughterhouse”. When the lyrics read on the screen “Break down the wall again” things started going crazy in the pit. People pretending to be ninjas, lots of pushing and jumping.

Once the first chorus ended, Chris Motionless welcomed Bryan Garris of Knocked Loose to the stage for this insane collaboration. Luckily for fans, Garris was already featured in the album for this song. Considering it was the last day of the tour, that’s when tour pranks kicked in as when the breakdown was about to hit. As fans heard the distortion from the guitars, the rest of the members of Knocked Loose came on stage and Chris was just waving goodbye to the crowd. Issac ( from Knocked Loose was wearing a similar bear trap mask that Sitkowski was wearing throughout the show. The pit split open more than it already was. Garris and the rest of Knocked Loose finished the song while all of Motionless in White was watching from the side stage. Chris Motionless took a moment to praise Knocked Loose and talked about the cancellation from the Black and Blue tour they had planned back in 2020 just as when the pandemic just started; but fans felt excited when Knocked Loose finally joined them on this wonderful tour.

After a few songs later, Ceruli makes an announcement “Please listen to a few words from our sponsor…”. It was so hilarious I laughed too hard while watching but it was an advertisement for “ZOMBite”. It is a parody pill advertisement which then transitioned to fans favorite “Werewolf”. This song and it’s music video as a whole gave off Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” vibes. On the giant screens behind the band was the music video playing while the song was being played. Chris Motionless was dressed up in his well known classic red leather jacket with his bloody white cut up shirt to resemble werewolf scratches. The choreography the Cherry Bombs had put on for this show was phenomenal. The Cherry Bombs during this song all had werewolf masks on which gave it that real Halloween feel.

As we get closer to the set, Ceruli has the light techs brighten the room up to see everybody’s faces. He yet makes another speech to the audience and asks her again “Who wants to hear more old Motionless in White songs? This song goes out for diehard day one fans. This is called ‘City Lights’”. Before this tour even started, fans have been tweeting, commenting on Instagram for the band to bring this song back on tour so you definitely know this one is going to be crazy. Morrow’s vocals were beautiful and out of all the times I’ve seen them live, he usually would do screams instead of cleans. At some point during the song, all you would hear is just the crowds' voices instead of the bands. That’s how you know how many hearts this song has touched. Hopefully on future tours they still have this song on their setlist.

As another intermission, Cerulli held a facetime call with the classic well known Zombie. It discussed missing him on tour and how he should come back on stage for his grand appearance. This then transitioned into “Not My Type: Dead as Fuck 2”. All you were able to see was the ginormous zombie followed by the Cherry Bombs dressed up in zombie costumes throwing out candy to the crowd. The experience for that song was definitely one to remember. Who can forget a giant zombie on a stage???

Finally the last song of the tour everybody was waiting for… To close out this evening the band performed “Scoring the End of the World” which features Mick Gordon. The vibes and the interaction everybody had together for this last song was one of the best moments in any tour. As soon as the last chorus hit, Cerulli told the crowd to follow his lead in waving their arms and hands side to side. Everybody felt so united at this show and I would definitely love the opportunity to see them live again when they come back in town and hopefully photograph them again. Wonderful experience and I recommend checking them out if you haven’t already.