Review Summary: A completely remastered version of the original, with re-recorded drums and a new take on the original album's sound. With plenty of new material, the Deluxe Edition of Infamous really gives you bang for your buck.
*Clarification: This is a review of the Deluxe Edition reissue of Infamous, originally written as a separate article but it was merged with Infamous so here it is.*
With their sophomore LP “Infamous”, Pennsylvania metalcore outfit Motionless in White attempted to break out of their stagnant genre and move more into the Industrial Metal scene. The album stirred up a controversy among the band’s fanbase, of course many fans were upset about the abrupt change from “Creatures”, while other praised the band for expanding their horizons and building upon their sound.
Drummer and founding member Angelo Parente left the group after the release of “Infamous” and was replaced by Brandon “Rage” Richter formerly of The Witch is Right. Facing the controversy of “Infamous” and themselves stating in interviews that the record was rushed and unfinished, the new lineup of Motionless in White moved back into the studio to re-record the album the way they wanted it to be. On June 11, 2013, the band reissued “Infamous”, as a deluxe edition.
The Deluxe Edition features completely re-recorded drums provided by Brandon “Rage” Richter in place of Parente’s original drumming, and is re-mixed and re-mastered entirely. The album also features 6 bonus tracks, including 2 all new songs and 3 remixes, as well as a radio edit of their song A-M-E-R-I-C-A.
The sound of the album is noticeably harder, reclaiming some of their heavier metalcore influences and adding more aggression to the album’s tracklist. The remastering of the album is very well done, the changes are subtle enough to not make the songs totally new but signifigant enough to give them a noticeably harder taste. This is perhaps most prevalent on tracks such as Devil’s Night, A-M-E-R-I-C-A, The Divine Infection and Underdog, which have dropped some of their more Industrial heaviness in favor of more metalcore style hardness. All in all, the base tracklist is still standard fare from “Infamous”, looked at with an interesting new approach. The band was able to spend more time reworking their album for the reissue than they were able to actually producing the original, and the more thoughtful production is clear on this second effort.
The two new tracks are added on to the end of the album as part of the standard tracklist, Sick From The Melt and Fatal. Sick From The Melt is a more electronic, industrial sounding track, which is consistent with the “Infamous” sound. While a good and interesting track, it somewhat sounds more like a song which could have been on the original “Infamous” more than it carries on the new sound explored on the Deluxe Edition. Fatal, on the other hand, takes a different approach. This is a straight metalcore track, its overall sound is in line with the rest of the Deluxe Edition; aggressive, hard hitting and prevalent drumming and a faster tempo. This is a heavier song and seems like a good album closer.
The next 3 tracks included in the Deluxe Edition are electronic remixes of tracks from the base album. A-M-E-R-I-C-A is remixed by Celldweller, Underdog is remixed by the band’s own Ricky “Horror” Olson. Finally, Sinematic is remixed by Combichrist. These remixes are a fun take on the original songs, but the EDM doesn’t mesh well with the rest of the album. They are however well done and produced, and can be an interesting listen for a breath of fresh air from the driving industrial metalcore of the main album. The final song on the album is the third rendition of A-M-E-R-I-C-A (the fourth counting the original version from “Infamous”), and is a “Radio Mix” of the song. There isnt really a noticeable difference between this version and the one found on the main album.
Altogether, Infamous: Deluxe Edition is exactly what it was intended to be, a heavier, harder version of Infamous that attempts to reconcile some of the band’s sound into a more coherent release. The album is different from most reissues in that rather than just containing bonus tracks, the album was completely re-recorded and remastered, and the drums were completely redone by the new drummer. The album does not fall short on bonus tracks either, containing 6, including 2 all new songs. The Deluxe Edition is a very solid release, and definitely helps to fix the issues with Infamous. The Deluxe edition is the album "Infamous" was meant to be.
Personnel:
Vocals: Chris “Motionless” Cerulli
Lead Guitar: Ryan Sitowsky
Rhythm Guitar: Ricky “Horror” Olson
Bass: Devin “Ghost” Sola
Drums: Brandon “Rage” Richter
Keyboards: Joshua Balz
