Static-X
“Shadow Zone
Warner Brothers
Static-X burst onto the music scene in 1999 with the release of “Wisconsin Death Trip.” At the time, I had just seen Static-X open for Fear Factory and remember being taken with lead singer Wayne Static’ vocal delivery. It was fast paced and urgent … and he wrote lyrics that rolled off his tongue in such a unique fashion. The music sounded almost industrial in nature (think: Ministry without the edge), and over the years developed into a mix of programming and metal almost on par with Rob Zombie’s band for the solo material (only with all the production effects added).
“Death Trip” was, at its heart, a nice little metal album. Static did some programming effects for tracks throughout the disc, but the album as a whole, was a nice little kick in the ass for fans of that type of music. Songs like “Bled for Days” and the title track are as good today as they were four years ago while other bands making disposable music at the time have since disappeared.
Static-X followed up “Death Trip” with 2001’s “Machine.” the album was much heavier than its predecessor. Songs like “Get to the Gone” and “This is Not” were louder, angrier and more fierce than anything the band had offered up previously. At some point the band also offered up a track for an animated Batman series that sounded like trance music and seemed totally out of character for the band.
“Shadow Zone” seems to have taken a step back from the foundation laid by “Machine”: the band toned the “heavy” down, and added a lot more programming — it just seems overly apparent in every track. Plus — and this is a complaint I heard about the band from fans and non-fans throughout the years — each song seems to bleed into the other and sound the same. In the past I’d have disagreed, but “Shadow Zone” seems to lack whatever I had heard in the previous albums.
Each song has nice parts, but most of them don’t seem very memorable. It’s nice to hear the trademark Static growls at the end of the opening track, “Destroy All.” Tony Campos’ underlying bass riffs on “Control It” are fantastic, but the guitar riffing gets annoying after awhile. “Control It” is actually one of the strongest tracks on the album and I’m surprised it wasn’t the lead off-single as it’s a track that showcases the elements that fans of the band have come to love.
“New Pain” starts off with some potential, but then there’s a strange bridge after each chorus with weird vocals that detract from the overall sound the song has going for it. The title track has some nice vocal delivery from Static, but the actual lyrics seem nonsensical, and the song again suffers from a weak chorus heavy on the keyboards. The singing reminds me of “Bled for Days” only less threatening. The guitar work done by Static and Tripp Rex Eisen on “Dead World” is another trademark of the band, the buzzing back a forth of the two creates a nice frenetic atmosphere.
“Monster” has some great vocals again from Static. He just rattles off line after line at breakneck speed while the guitars grind along with him like a locomotive. While it’s mostly a list of words or phrases, everything flows nicely together and actually makes sense.
“The Only” is a little slower than the tracks preceding it, but has a nice edge to it. The drumming and bass lines at the end of the song are a highlight of the track. “Kill Your Idols” is the closest song to sound like the Static-X of old. Musically “All in Wait” is strong, especially the bass, but the vocals seem distant and bring the song down. The programming on this track also seems out of place. “Otsegolectric” was the song I heard touted before the release of the disc, but doesn�t really do anything to stand out on its own.
“So,” a song about pushing a loved one away, is the best song on the “Shadow Zone.” It’s a great love-type song with a nice edge. It’s the type of song you could put on a mix tape for someone, but still listen to it alone and get into it.
“Transmission” is just a bridge of noise and sounds to the last track, “Invincible.” The band goes out on a slower note with this melancholic track that doesn’t seem to fit in with its normal sound.
Well, at first listen it seems like Static-X has lost it’s edge. The songs have strong elements, but suffer ultimately from either bad choruses or weird structure. The strongest songs on the disc have to be “Control It,” “Shadow Zone,” “Monster” and “So.” I know that the programming is one element of the “Static-X sound,” but I just feel like it gets overwhelming after a while. On second and third listens the band still comes off angry and loud, but in the end this album just didn’t quite do “it” for me.
