The band's debut album, Wisconsin Death Trip, was released March 23, 1999. Notable songs from the album include Push It, I'm With Stupid, Bled For Days, and Fix. Static-X's touring schedule in support of the album included two Ozzfest stints. The following year saw the release of the little-known EP The Death Trip Continues, and the band contributed the song "Otsegolation" to the PlayStation video game Omega Boost. Push It also appeared on the Playstation video games Street Skater 2 & Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes.
After recording their follow-up album Machine, guitarist Koichi Fukuda left the band to spend time with his family and pursue other musical opportunities. Tripp Eisen, formerly of Dope, stepped in as Fukuda's replacement. Machine was released May 22, 2001.
Static-X quickly began work on their third album Shadow Zone, this time with Eisen performing and writing on the album. Before they started recording, however, Ken Jay left the band due to "political differences." Josh Freese of A Perfect Circle was brought in to drum on the album, and Nick Oshiro, formerly of Seether, was later selected as Jay's replacement. Shadow Zone was released October 7, 2003, and July 20, 2004 saw the release of Beneath... Between... Beyond..., a collection of rarities and demos. Later that year, Wayne did guest vocals on the Skinny Puppy song Use Less.
Shortly after the release of Beneath... Between... Beyond..., the band commenced work on their fourth studio album, Start a War. In February of 2005, Tripp Eisen was arrested in a sex scandal involving minors, and was fired from Static-X shortly after. Former guitarist Koichi Fukuda, who had been mixing the new album, rejoined Static-X to fill the vacancy left by Eisen. Start a War was released June 14, 2005.
Cannibal, released on April 3, 2007, marked the studio return of their original guitarist, Koichi Fukuda. One of the new tracks called "No Submission" is available on the Saw III soundtrack. The full track has also been released on Static-X's MySpace page. "Cannibal" was released as a digital download single at iTunes. "Destroyer" was released as a lead off radio single, before the album was released. Videos for the singles were supposed to be taken at the same time.
On March 20, the upcoming album was preceded with an exclusive Destroyer EP. The video for "Destroyer" has also been produced and is available now at headbangersball.com. The album itself debuted at #36 in the U.S. with sales of over 30,000.
On May 10, 2007 it was announced that the band would be playing on the main stage at Ozzfest 2007. Additionally, in a recent interview, Wayne Static announced his side-project called "Pighammer". The chorus of the song "Destroyer" was used in an advertisement promoting the latest video game in the WWE franchise, Smackdown vs. Raw 2008.
In November 2007, Tony Campos joined legendary industrial act Ministry as a temporary touring bassist for Ministry's C U LaTour in the wake of Paul Raven's death.
The band began their sixth studio album, Cult of Static, in January 2008 after returning from the Operation Annihilation tour in Australia. In a posting at the Static-X message boards Wayne Static said that this time around he is focusing on longer buildups and break downs like in the Wisconsin Death Trip days of the band, however the album still maintains the heaviness that was present on Cannibal.
On October 14, 2008 Static-X released their much anticipated live CD/DVD, Cannibal Killers Live. On December 11, 2008 Wayne Static confirmed on the Static-X Message Board the new album's release date and name saying "I had hoped to announce it here first, but my publicist beat me to the punch! The new record is indeed entitled "Cult of Static" and will be released March 17. The "cult" part of the title is not to be taken in any religious manner, I am referring to and giving respect to the loyalty of all you good people that have supported us through the years. This record is definitely darker than Cannibal and has more synths and loops as well. And this is also the most crushing guitar tone I have ever had. There are 11 songs instead of our usual 12, and they are mostly longer and more epic than ever before." The album debut at #16 on the Billboard 200 chart, the highest a Static-X album has ever been since their second studio album, Machine. A new Static-X song called "Lunatic" appeared on soundtrack to the movie Punisher: War Zone.
In 2009, the band performed at the Download Festival. It also was the first time the band made an appearance at Rock on the Range.After finishing their final tour dates in Australia at the end of 2009, Wayne Static announced on the band's official X-Boards that he will now be focusing on his side project Pighammer. In a follow up post he was quoted "It's doubtful I will do anything with Static-X for the next couple years" leading fans to interpret that the band is still together and just on hiatus.
Later, he revealed that Tony Campos had left the band, and Campos has since joined the metal band Soulfly, taking over from Bobby Burns. Koichi Fukuda went on to join industrial metal / ambient band Drugstore Fanatics.
In 2010, Wayne Static has been confirmed for Graspop Metal Meeting 2011 as part of his 'Pighammer' solo project. He released his debut solo album "Pighammer on October 4, 2011.
In 2012 Wayne Static decided to reform Static-X, but none of the original members will join him. Instead his solo band will tour under the name Static-X.
The band's musical styles are industrial metal, alternative metal, and occasionally nu metal. But the band rejected the nu metal label and they also call their music as "evil disco". The band are influenced by metal and industrial bands like Ministry and Fear Factory.
On 1st of November 2014, news surfaced of Wayne Static's death. At this point no formal reason has been published for his passing.
Static died on November 1, 2014 in Landers, California, three days before his 49th birthday. He had consumed half of an oxycodone pill as well as alcohol that morning before going to bed with his wife Tera Wray. She woke up later that day to find that he had died in his sleep. His family issued a statement stating that rumors of his death being drug-related were false, noting that he and Wray had stopped using illicit drugs in 2009. An autopsy later confirmed that Static had died of multiple prescription drug toxicity, consisting of the painkillers oxycodone, hydromorphone, and the anti-anxiety medication alprazolam combined with alcohol, though the report also noted that years of past "chronic prescription drug and alcohol abuse" was a contributing factor.
Former Static-X members Koichi Fukuda and Tony Campos paid tribute to Static. Static was cremated in California. A memorial rock show followed in Los Angeles, and a family service followed in Illinois. In 2019 it was announced that a new Static-X album would be coming out with a new lead singer named "Xer0", who is rumored to be Edsel Dope from the band Dope.
Static-X released an album titled “Project Regeneration Vol. 1” on July 10, 2020 that features completed tracks that use demos of Wayne’s voice. The original band lineup, minus Wayne Static, contributed to this album as a tribute to Wayne. There are a few songs with the entity, Xer0, involved and one featuring Al Jourgensen from the industrial metal band Ministry. Ulrich Wild returned to produce this album along with Edsel Dope.
After multiple pushed back dates, another album called “Project Regeneration Vol. 2” was released on January 26, 2024. It features the last of Wayne’s unfinished vocal demos as well as some Xer0 original tracks. This is the final volume of Project Regeneration.
Members
Xero – vocals, lead guitar (2019-present)
Tony Campos – bass, backing vocals (1994–present)
Koichi Fukuda – lead guitars (1994–2000, 2005–present)
Ken Jay – drums, percussion (1994–2002, 2019-present)
Former
Wayne Static – lead vocals, rhythm guitars, keyboards, programming (1994–2014)
Ashes – lead guitars (2012–2014)
Brent Ashley – bass (2012–2014)
Sean Davidson – drums, percussion (2012–2014)
Tripp Eisen – lead guitars (2001–2005)
Nick Oshiro – drums, percussion (2003–2012)
Black and White
Static-X Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lost in my own World
Lost in my
Lost in my own World
Lost in my own World
Lost in my
Getting to the right
Getting mine
Getting to the right
Getting to the wrong
Getting high
Losing your mind
Losing your mind
It's blurring
It's fading
Your soul's on fire
It's black and white
Burning inside
Burning inside
Burning into white
Burning inside
Burning inside
Burning into night
Yourself collides
Yourself collides
Yourself into mine
Yourself collides
Yourself collides
Yourself splinters like
Losing your mind
Losing your mind
It's blurring
It's fading
Your soul's on fire
It's black and white
Blurring the light
Blurring the light
It's ours for the taking
Flickering colors
It's black and white
The lyrics of Static-X's song Black And White depict an individual who appears to be struggling with their own identity and sanity, and is seemingly lost within their own world. The repetitive phrase "Lost in my own World" in the beginning of the song, emphasizes the feeling of isolation and disconnection from reality. The lyrics depict the struggle between choosing the right path and the wrong one, and the impact of these choices on one's life. The line "Getting high" could possibly refer to the use of drugs as a means to escape reality and numb the pain.
The chorus, "Losing your mind, it's blurring, it's fading, your soul's on fire, it's black and white" depicts a clear inner turmoil, where the character is losing grip over their own thoughts and perception. Their soul is on fire, perhaps indicating that they are burning on the inside with emotions that they cannot express, leading to a sense of confusion and despair. The contrasting imagery of black and white adds to the confusion and disorientation, indicating the inability to find balance between the two.
The song lyrically depicts the struggle of identity and the internal conflicts that arise as a person tries to makes sense of their place in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Lost in my own World
Feeling disconnected and isolated from the rest of reality
Getting to the right
Trying to make progress towards the intended goal
Getting to the wrong
Making mistakes and sidetracking from the intended path
Getting mine
Taking what is deserved or earned
Getting high
Feeling euphoric or mentally elevated from drugs or other means
Losing your mind
Becoming mentally unstable or overwhelmed
It's blurring
Things are becoming unclear and confusing
It's fading
Something is disappearing or becoming less noticeable
Your soul's on fire
Feeling intense emotions, typically negative ones
It's black and white
The situation is either one extreme or the other with little to no middle ground
Burning inside
Experiencing intense emotional pain or turmoil
Burning into white
The intensity of the internal struggle is causing one to feel numb or empty
Burning inside
Continued internal torment
Burning into night
The internal pain leads to darkness and despair
Yourself collides
Personal issues or problems are causing conflict with others or external situations
Yourself into mine
Personal problems are affecting relationships with others
Yourself splinters like
Internal strife is causing one to feel fragmented and unable to focus
Blurring the light
Mental instability is affecting one's ability to see things clearly
It's ours for the taking
Opportunities present themselves for the taking, but one must be stable enough to recognize and seize them
Flickering colors
Experiencing brief moments of positivity and hope, but they don't last
It's black and white
Despite the occasional flicker of hope, the overall situation is still extreme and uncertain
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: AUSTIN BROWN, ANDREW CHRISTOPHER SAVAGE, MAXWELL OLIVER SAVAGE, SEAN MATTHEW YEATON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@shelbieesclavon8235
Listened to this as a teenager. Still listening at 32 lol
@-na-nomad6247
And you'll still be listening to it at 64, bless you.
@Clown4night
🤘🎧🎵🎵🎵🎵🤘
@jonimims823
🤘🏾🤘🏾🤘🏾
@Bickek9384
This era of music was the time there is mo other music that makes you feel energetic now that im 40 I still can feel this shit like I was 20 😜
@ThaSiknezz
This is the only song my son would fall asleep too from 3 months till about 3 and half years. Thank u Wayne static for ur soul that u put in this and u will be missed.
@-na-nomad6247
Hey man, how's your kid doing after all those years ? What does he think when you tell him he used to listen to this song ?
@bmso1680
This was my favorite song from this album.
@rickylucas6503
This and permanance were both played back to back the most when i owned this album.
@ollysfilmsandgames2047
This IS my favourite.