Tempe, AZ — The midpoint date of the “Diseased & Disguised” January tour brought co-headliners Motionless in White (MIW) and Beartooth, with support from Stick to Your Guns (STYG) and Nothing Left, to Marquee Theatre. The name of the tour came from the names of the two most recent studio album releases from each co-headliner — Disease from Beartooth (released Sept. 2018, deluxe edition Oct. 2019), and Disguise from Motionless in White (released June 2019).
Nothing Left
Nothing Left, the opening band, has the most recent studio album release, with Disconnected (Dec. 2019). This supergroup, formed in 2016, consists of members of four other metalcore bands: For Today, A Bullet for a Pretty Boy, Silent Planet, and Take It Back! They kicked off the night with high energy that wouldn’t let up. Lead vocalist Danon Saylor rarely stood in one place, pacing the stage while he delivered the lyrics in his trademark growl.
Stick to Your Guns
Stick to your Guns follows a long, proud tradition of California-based punk. They honored the scene with their set — an explosive show that frequently had frontman Jesse Barnett playing to the crowd at the edge of the stage. Guitarist Josh James and bassist Andrew Rose seemingly spent as much time in the air as they did on the stage, which kept the crowd hyped and wanting more. STYG released their sixth studio album True View in October of 2017.
Beartooth
Never dialing down, Beartooth kept the spirit of the night going with a vigorous performance that made their dedication to a fun, crazy show apparent. Caleb Shomo, lead vocalist, provoked the mosh pit to keep widening shouting, “We want a big circle pit… bigger… BIGGER.” As strobes and colorful backlights accented their energy, the moshing extended far back into the room. He involved the audience during “Body Bag”, asking them to say “one decision” when he said “one life”. He also gave a heartfelt speech about being vulnerable, and not feeling like you are enough.
Despite macabre titles and theatrics, fans know full well that they can expect a positive, uplifting night with these artists. The themes of the night were, “be a good person” and “be yourself“. Both Motionless in White and Beartooth cemented these messages, and encouraged finding the will to persevere. Beartooth expressed how much they love touring with MIW. In fact, during one song, MIW lead vocalist Chris “Motionless” Cerulli came out to hug Beartooth’s frontman Shomo. Later on MIW made it clear that the feeling was mutual, saying that the guys in Beartooth are ‘the nicest guys they’d ever toured with.’ Burning Hot Events’ photographer Andrew Marshall described the show as “a lovefest” — love between the bands, love of the fans, and encouraging fans to love themselves and others.
Motionless in White
With a music box introduction that sharply transitions into synths, then erupts into screams, Motionless in White launched their set with title-track “Disguise”. MIW is influenced by a wide range of genres: hard rock, heavy metal, industrial, gothic rock, punk, nu metal, electronica, and more. Their amalgam of influences shows, making them an absolute delight to the ears, topped off with an eye candy aesthetic.
Fans sang along to every word, while the heavy beats reverberated through their chests. “Voices” had a particularly notable, enthusiastic sing-a-long, after which Cerulli high-fived a crowd-surfer. Guitarist Ricky “Horror” Olson never let up on headbanging throughout the entire set, and bassist Justin Morrow posed for and wildly interacted with the crowd. The night closed perfectly as “Eternally Yours”, from 2017’s Graveyard Shift, decrescendos to light strumming and soft fading vocals.
The lineup of the “Diseased & Disguised” tour is well-paired and guaranteed to please. We highly recommend coming out to let loose and lose yourself in heavy music. Tonight (January 15) will be the last of Nothing Left’s scheduled tour dates at this time. The tour continues throughout North America until January 30, and then MIW, Beartooth, and STYG will proceed to tour Europe separately.
Setlists:*
Motionless in White | Beartooth
| Stick to Your Guns
Tour Dates:
Motionless in White | Beartooth
| Stick to Your Guns | Nothing Left
Photo Galleries
Photography: Andrew Marshall
View Separately:
Motionless in White
| Beartooth
| Stick to Your Guns | Nothing Left
Diseased & Disguised Tour – Marquee Theatre 1-11-20
Co-Authors: Nate Wert, Katherine Amy Vega, Andrew Marshall
Photography © Andrew Marshall
All Rights Reserved
* Linked setlists are compiled by fans on Setlist.fm and not guaranteed for accuracy.