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)
Dirthouse
Static-X Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Watch it happen from the box
Mind wanders
Dirty dirty word
My dirthouse
This is where it all comes down
Look into my eye
You feel my skin, it's dirt
Drive me wild
Remember when you blew my mind?
Cut through me
Living in the dirt
These dogs are curled up in a little ball
These dogs are freezing their asses off
Go, go, go
Pick up the pieces
I want to call this my home
Go, go, go
Pick up the pieces
I've got some pain of my own
Open the box
See what's inside
You make the call
Sick of it all again
Tear me down
Pushing on my every nerve
Scares me
I hope I don't get burnt
Look closer
Look into my dirty mind
Feeling sick inside
My blood has turned to fucking dirt
Dirthouse by Static-X is a song that speaks about the emotional turmoil of the person. The lyrics use the metaphor of a dirty house or a dirty mind to represent the internal conflicts that the person is going through. The first verse begins with the singer talking about watching things happen from a box, which could represent a barrier between him and the rest of the world, or a numbness towards external circumstances. The singer's mind wanders and fixates on a dirty word. The repetition of the phrase "My dirthouse" signifies that the person is locked in their own psychological difficulty. When they tell the listener to look into their eye, they are inviting others to understand their suffering.
In the second verse, the singer talks about their mind being blown, potentially by something that sucked them into their current situation. The phrase "living in the dirt" represents a feeling of being stuck and not being able to move forward. The metaphorical dogs curled up in a little ball and freezing their asses off signify the lack of warmth, comfort, and security that the person feels inside. The chorus urges the listener to pick up the pieces and make a home out of the mess that they're currently in. The repetition of the phrase "go, go, go" represents a sense of urgency to move on to something better.
Line by Line Meaning
My dirthouse
The singer's residence is an unclean and unpleasant place
Watch it happen from the box
The singer observes events taking place from a detached and uninvolved perspective
Mind wanders
The singer's thoughts wander aimlessly
Dirty dirty word
A vulgar or obscene term
This is where it all comes down
The artist is at a crucial turning point
Look into my eye
The singer invites scrutiny and challenges others to understand their perspective
You feel my skin, it's dirt
The singer's physical body is unclean and impure
Drive me wild
The artist desires to be emotionally overwhelmed
Remember when you blew my mind?
The artist reminisces about a past experience where they were deeply affected by someone or something
Cut through me
The artist is asking someone to deeply affect them again, to the point of causing emotional pain
Living in the dirt
The singer is existing in a state of filth and moral decay
These dogs are curled up in a little ball
An image of vulnerability and helplessness
These dogs are freezing their asses off
The singer paints a picture of suffering and misery
Go, go, go
The singer is urging themselves or others to take action
Pick up the pieces
The singer suggests that something is broken and must be repaired
I want to call this my home
Despite its uncleanliness and dysfunction, the artist desires to take ownership of their living space
I've got some pain of my own
The artist acknowledges their own emotional distress
Open the box
The singer unlocks a hidden truth or brings something into the open
See what's inside
The singer urges someone to 'look deeper' at something, to truly understand it
You make the call
The artist defers to someone else to make a decision or take responsibility
Sick of it all again
The artist is feeling fed up and frustrated with their situation
Tear me down
The artist is asking to be emotionally broken down and destroyed
Pushing on my every nerve
Someone or something is irritating and distressing the singer
Scares me
The artist is afraid
I hope I don't get burnt
The singer fears negative consequences
Look closer
The singer invites someone to inspect or scrutinize them further
Look into my dirty mind
The singer is exposing their innermost thoughts and desires, which may be considered shameful or immoral
Feeling sick inside
The artist is experiencing emotional turmoil or distress
My blood has turned to fucking dirt
The artist feels morally and emotionally corrupted
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANTONIO CAMPOS, TRIPP EISEN, WAYNE WELLS, WAYNE R. (STATIC-X) WELLS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind