Motionless in White

Inducted Members: Josh Balz, Thomas Bell, Chris Cerulli, Vinny Mauro, Justin Morrow, Ricky Olson, Angelo Parente, Ryan Sitkowski

Of the hardcore bands that have sprouted up in Northeast Pennsylvania since the rise of Breaking Benjamin in the early 2000s, the most successful has been Motionless in White. The gothic group whose faces are shrouded by heavy makeup have made some of the most emotionally resonant music to ever emerge from this area. Fans from across the globe have, in turn, responded to their output by cranking it up whenever and wherever possible.

The original members of Motionless in White were high school friends led by frontman Chris Cerulli. The group played their first two shows at Luzerne County’s Northeast Fair in 2004. By 2005, they had settled on their band name and released their self-titled demo. They were “discovered” at the Staircase in the Pittston area, kickstarting their more formal entry into recording original music.

The group were given the opportunity to play on the Warped Tour stage for the first time at Montage Mountain in 2005. It would be the first of nine times they would appear on the tour. During this same era, the group’s victory in the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands landed them the opening gig at the Taste of Chaos show in Camden, New Jersey, performing to the largest crowd they had played for up to that point. More locally, the band captured the distinction of being the last artist to ever play at Cafe Metropolis, one of Wilkes-Barre’s most iconic music venues.

With far greater name recognition accumulated, Motionless in White’s first two EPs, The Whorror and When Love Met Destruction, were released in the run up to their first full-length album, 2010’s Creatures. The promising debut snuck into the US Billboard album charts, and — guided by the lead single “Abigail” — it would serve as the early blueprint for what a Motionless in White record could accomplish. Still, their sound would continue to build in sonic ambition.

The band’s second album, Infamous, was emblematic of Motionless in White’s growing interest in the studio, as they used multiple producers to create a more eclectic array of sounds. For their efforts, they were rewarded with their first appearance in the top 100 slots of the US Billboard album charts. Their charting success was sustained on the next album, 2014’s Reincarnate, which saw them crack into the top 10 of the US Billboard album charts and snag the top spot in Billboard’s Hard Rock and Rock album lists.

Graveyard Shift, Motionless in White’s fourth album, added a pair of critical singles to the band’s output. The first was “570,” a tune that saw the band reflect on their rise to stardom from their Luzerne County roots. The song title, as many have pointed out, is a direct reference to Northeast Pennsylvania’s area code. Graveyard Shift also included “Voices,” which showed a more radio-friendly, yet undeniably ferocious, version of the band.

In the lead-up to their hotly anticipated next album, Motionless in White shared concert bills with artists like Korn, Alice Cooper, and fellow Luzerne County band Breaking Benjamin. They toured internationally as well, adding to their global crew of “creatures,” as their fans are known to be called. Disguise would be released in 2019, and introduced another crop of signature songs, such as “Another Life.” They also won favor with the more traditional rock crowd through their outstanding cover of the Killers’ “Somebody Told Me” in 2020.

Motionless in White emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic with more juice in their music than ever, evidenced by the epic scope of their next album release, Scoring the End of the World. The album’s release party was held at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre, and the songs themselves are among the band’s most impressive. The aptly-titled “Masterpiece” is the core of the record, but tracks like “Sign of Life” and “Werewolf” have found their way onto thousands of playlists.

Throughout their career, Motionless in White have consistently provided support for marginalized communities, and especially those suffering from mental illness. Their lyrical pillars — inclusivity and self-reflection — have resonated with millions, evidenced by their immense popularity in the age of streaming. No other band from Luzerne County looks or sounds like Motionless in White, but it is this very embrace of the strange and unusual that has brought strength to so many of their fans.