Motionless In White Brings the Sweat & Blood Tour to The Woodlands

After a long week of stressing over whether this show was even going to happen thanks to the unpredictable path of Tropical Storm Bertha, I swear I manifested the hell out of it. Every weather update had me refreshing my phone, fully preparing myself for the possibility of another canceled show. Somehow the universe came through because the storm never hit and the show was officially a go. I’ve been looking forward to this one since the day it was announced and I was beyond excited to finally cover it. Even better, so many of my friends were going to be there too. It literally felt like a high school reunion, just with spiked boots, band tees, and fishnets. And yes, I wore my fishnets too. They were actually part of the reason I ended up running late because I couldn’t find them buried under the pile of clothes I’d thrown all over my bed trying to figure out what the fit was going to be for the night. As if that wasn’t enough, my tire also decided it wanted to give up on the highway.

Everything turned out fine, but unfortunately I missed Static Dress because of it. At that point nothing was keeping me away though. I was determined to get to this show no matter what kind of obstacle decided to show up that day. It was Motionless In White day and I was not messing around. By the time I made it to The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, the heat was on a whole different level. I’m pretty sure we were well over 100 degrees, but honestly nobody cared. Every single one of us is dressed head to toe in black in the middle of summer? No problem — we were all locked in, ready to headbang, and it was finally go-time.

First up, at least for me, was Texas made Fit For A King and the welcome home they got from Houston was unreal. Circle pits and mosh pits broke out almost immediately as the crowd screamed every word back at them. This was my first time seeing these guys live and I was instantly impressed by how incredibly tight they sounded. Every breakdown hit exactly how it was supposed to and they never missed a beat. They ripped through songs including “Backbreaker,” “Begin the Sacrifice,” and “When Everything Means Nothing” before wrapping up their seven song set with “Witness the End.” Everyone was happy, sweaty, and on their feet at this point. It was the perfect little dose of chaos before the real chaos was still to come.

Next up was the absolutely insane deathcore band Lorna Shore. I don’t even know how to explain the level of intensity you feel at one of their shows. It’s really something you have to experience for yourself because no amount of writing could ever come close to what it feels like standing in that crowd while they’re on stage. These guys are the real deal. The sounds that come out of vocalist Will Ramos are some of the most powerful vocals I’ve ever heard live. It’s honestly mind blowing how effortlessly he can switch between different vocal styles in an instant. I’m no vocal expert by any means, but my throat hurts just listening to him. I can’t even imagine doing that night after night. Everything about their set was intense. The deep red lighting covering the stage, the dark moody atmosphere, the absolutely crushing riffs, it all came together perfectly.

We almost caught a few crowd surfers to the face, but honestly that’s just part of the Lorna Shore experience at this point. They ripped through songs like “To the Hellfire,” “Unbreakable,” and “War Machine” featuring Nick Chance. Unfortunately that’s also when media had to make the walk back to the office to drop off our cameras, so we missed seeing that one from the pit. Sad times. They continued with “Into the Earth” and “Glenwood” before closing out with “Prison of Flesh.” From start to finish it was an absolutely incredible performance. This band just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and I honestly can’t wait to see where they go from here.

It was finally time for what I had been waiting for all day. Motionless In White. To say I was excited would be the biggest understatement ever. I was basically a kid in a candy store. Even though I’ve seen and covered these guys several times now, there’s always a little extra pressure when you’re photographing one of your favorite bands. Everything about Motionless In White pulls you in. The production, the outfits, the atmosphere, the lyrics. Every little detail feels intentional. This tour also brought out the Cherry Bombs, which added a whole new level of entertainment to an already incredible performance. The fire, the energy, and every little detail on stage had the crowd completely locked in from beginning to end.

Unfortunately there wasn’t quite as much fire as the band had originally planned. Chris made sure to let everyone know that wasn’t their decision, but rather restrictions from the pavilion because of the stage layout and how close the pit was. Honestly, if they had been allowed to do everything they wanted, I can’t even imagine how insane it would have been.

Their set was the perfect mix of old favorites and brand new songs from their newly released album. It never felt like the energy dipped for a second. One of my favorite moments of the night had to be “Sunglasses at Night.” I swear every single person around me somehow pulled out a pair of sunglasses and screamed every word at the top of their lungs. It was one of those moments that just makes live music so much fun. Some of my personal favorites included “Playing God,” “Thoughts & Prayers,” “Slaughterhouse” with Ryan Kirby, “Masterpiece,” “Scoring the End of the World,” and of course they closed out the night with “Eternally Yours.”

Y’all… believe me when I say this was easily one of the best shows I’ve seen in the last year. The production, the music, the screams, the fire, the Cherry Bombs, the beach balls flying through the crowd, and all of the little details in between made this one of the most memorable nights I’ve had in a long time.

Nights like this remind me why I fell in love with this scene in the first place. It isn’t just about the music. It’s about the people, the friendships, and that feeling that nothing else in the world matters for a couple of hours. We’re all just one big family screaming our favorite songs together, and I literally wouldn’t trade that feeling for the world. I love my little metalhead family.