Motionless In White | Margaret Court Arena | Melbourne | 24th June

While Motionless in White have visited Australia since 2017, they haven't actually run their own headline tour here until this year. That gap showed the second you got to Margaret Court Arena on June 24th for the opening night of the Afraid of the Dark tour. The lines for entry and merch were massive, packed with fans who had been waiting years for their inevitable return. They brought a fully stacked lineup with them, pulling in US heavyweights Currents and Perth's own Make Them Suffer to open the night.

As I made my way to my seat and got a proper look at the floor, the standing section was beyond packed. It really showed the level of dedication the crowd had, not just for the headliners, but for all the supports on the bill.

Currents' drummer Matt Young emerged onto the stage and took his place behind the kit. He pressed one foot to the floor, triggering an explosion of bass across the arena right as the rest of the band took the stage to launch into "It Only Gets Darker," the opening track off their most recent EP All That Follows.

Currents are constantly in my rotation, so it was sick to see them back at this exact venue three years after they toured here with Polaris. Their riffs are always a force to be reckoned with and I have to admit I had a bit of FOMO sitting in my seat as I watched the pit go feral for every track.

As currents tore through their setlist and eventually finished up with "Remember Me," it was time to head out, grab a drink, and get ready for one of my favourite bands of all time, Make Them Suffer.

As I sat and waited, it was funny watching the absolute hivemind of the crowd stop their chatter when "Break Stuff" started playing over the speakers. The majority of the venue just collectively started headbanging and singing along together (Me included).

The energy escalated immediately the second Sean Harmanis started rocketing around the stage. They kicked things off with "Ghost Of Me," backed by what I have to say was an incredibly impressive lighting rig. Watching them is always a pleasure, and it's crazy how they always manage to add that extra one percent to every single show they do. Their stage presence, performance, and everything in between are clear proof of how all of Make Them Suffer's hard work has paid off. They kept encouraging crowd engagement the whole time. When "Soul Decay" hit, I think I counted six crowd surfers in the air at once, which had the security guards working overtime.

They wrapped up the set with the notorious "Doomswitch," which triggered even more crowd surfers than before. By the time the final breakdown hit, the entire floor was a moving wall of bodies, leaving the crowd completely exhausted but fully primed for the main event.

Now, I want to start off by saying I had no idea what I was in for with Motionless in White's actual performance. The music itself I obviously knew, but I hadn't seen a single thing from their live show prior to tonight, apart from the spinning rave cat that appears on the back screens to mark the start of the show.

The moment the rave cat faded from the screens, the distant toll of a bell began to echo through the venue, steadily growing louder. Out of the shadows, the band members walked out to their spots just as a massive wall of pyrotechnics erupted across the stage.

Motionless in White took to the stage and wasted zero time, launching straight into "Meltdown" to kick off the tour. "Phenomenal" is the only word that even comes close to describing the standard they set for the night; truth be told, I was completely unprepared for what we were in for.

The entire production was next-level. They brought out the Cherry Bombs, a group of dancers who added a massive layer to the performance with constant costume changes. They were doing everything from handling pyro sticks to using literal angle grinders to shoot sparks for visual effect, I absolutely loved all of it. When you start going to as many shows as I do, the line-ups and sets can sometimes start to blend together, but the sheer uniqueness of this performance has left a permanent memory in my head.

A massive high point of the night for me was watching Sean from Make Them Suffer re-emerge on stage during "Slaughterhouse" to handle Bryan Garris's parts. He absolutely killed it, and hearing his vocals match that level of intensity was unbelievable.

The setlist was stacked to the brim with massive tracks like "Voices" and "Disguise", the latter of which unfortunately had to be cut short due to a patron needing medical attention, though thankfully they turned out to be okay.

Towards the end of the set, Chris took a moment to thank everyone for coming out and plugged their upcoming album, Decades, which is set to release on the 17th of July. To celebrate, they treated us to some new tracks like "Afraid of the Dark" and the absolute live debut of "Playing God," featuring Brian Wille from Currents stepping in to absolutely crush Corey Taylor's original verse.

To round out the night, they closed with the spectacular track "Eternally Yours." Every single fan in the venue poured out every last ounce of energy they had left to match the band for this final performance, ending the night on an absolute high.

The whole show was an absolute spectacle, and I left that venue craving more. Honestly, I have no notes. This has to be one of the best shows I have ever experienced, and every single band and moment during this night was a pure 10/10. However, one thing’s for certain: Everyone needs to see a Motionless in White show at least once in their life.”