It's hard to believe that 2009 marks the 10th anniversary of Static-X, a blazing outfit that fuses alt-metal, thrash, industrial and even techno into celebrations of nihilism, hedonism and destruction. During their career, about half of their records, including 2001's Machine and 2007's Cannibal, have been rooted mostly in hostility and dissonance, while others, such as 1999's debut Wisconsin Death Trip and 2005's Start a War, contained more melody and groove within the demolition site framework.
Static-X's new album, Cult of Static, which comes out March 17, is a hybrid of both worlds, melding aggressive, insistent riffs and explosive energy with a tangible sense of control and even finesse. Frontman Wayne Static, who writes all the riffs, is joined once again by gifted guitarist Koichi Fukada, who quit in 2000 and was replaced by ex-Dope guitarist Tripp Eisen, only to rejoin the fold after Eisen was arrested in 2004 for statutory rape.
Click "more" to read more and hear our podcast interview.
For Static-X the tabloid-style headlines don't end with lineup shifts and legal wranglings. In 2007, Static hooked up with adult actress Tera Wray and the next January the couple got married. Then Wray quit the business. While Cult of Static is hardly a romantic album, it's full of love songs, including "Tera-Fied," and "Stingwray," which is named after the Corvette Stingwray Static bought Wray as a gift. Wray appears in the video for the song and, in consistent dramatic fashion, during the shoot her had was slashed by shards of glass smashed during taping.
With strength and perseverance, she and the band finished the shoot and the video debuted last week on HeadbangersBlog.com and can be seen again on Saturday's "Headbangers Ball," which airs from 2 to 3 a.m. on MTV2.
We recently contacted Static and talked with to him about the band's history, the creation Cult of Static, the meaning of the title, what it takes to maintain a romantic relationship with a porn star and how being married doesn't mean settling down.
hbbpodcaststaticx.mp3 - Static_X
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