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)
Grind 2 Halt
Static-X Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And gate and filter the thoughts
Short break, electric scramble
Take what you thought was yours
Tribal Bible, punching metal
Black fills up every knot
Scratch up synthetic substance
Grind 2 halt, slam it shut
Never stop, make the cut
Grind 2 halt, slam it shut
Never stop, make the cut
Carve confusion, bright illusion
Drive to burn up the road
Visions begin to glow
It starts to heavy the load
Still I'm liable, twist in my side
Black fills up every knot
Scratch up synthetic substance
Break up the fall
Grind 2 halt, slam it shut
Never stop, make the cut
Carve confusion, bright illusion
Drive to burn up the road
Visions begin to glow
It starts to heavy the load
Still I'm liable, twist in my side
Black fills up every knot
Scratch up synthetic substance
Break up the fall
Grind 2 halt, slam it shut
Never stop, make the cut
Grind 2 halt, slam it shut
Never stop, make the cut
The song "Grind 2 Halt" by Static-X is a fast-paced, electrifying song that showcases Wayne Static's signature singing style that mixes distorted guitar riffs, industrial beats and soundscapes, and aggressive and passionate vocals. The song might be open to interpretation, but the lyrics indicate a theme of grinding through obstacles and hardships to reach one's goals.
The first verse sets the tone with lines that describe a futuristic, spacey scene that revolves around shutting out the noise and focusing on one's thoughts. The lyrics suggest that one should take control of what they believe belongs to them, a "short break" and a "electric scramble" to reclaim power. The second verse goes on to describe a struggle, with the "twist in my side" describing a possibly physical or emotional pain that one must work through while pursuing their dreams.
The chorus, repeated twice, reinforces the idea of pushing through hardship with an inner determination to "never stop" and to cut through any obstacles found in one's path. The rest of the lyrics focus on a mindset that involves carving out one's own path from the chaos of life, sometimes through breaking things down and rebuilding them.
Line by Line Meaning
Pitch slap, deep space, techno echo
Start the song with an energetic and futuristic vibe, conveyed through a metaphor of a sudden impact resonating through the vast unknown void, accompanied by a striking repetitive sound effect that evokes the electronic genre of music.
And gate and filter the thoughts
Filter out and discard irrelevant, distracting, or negative thoughts in order to focus on the task at hand - most likely a creative process related to the making of music.
Short break, electric scramble
Indicate a brief pause, followed by a rush of frenzied activity, expressed through an electric sound effect that amplifies the adrenaline and energy of the moment.
Take what you thought was yours
Seize control of what was assumed to be rightfully one's own - possibly referring to a creative idea or goal.
Tribal Bible, punching metal
Fuse the indigenous and the industrial/technological, resulting in an aggressive and powerful combination - also possibly hinting at the theme of violence vs. culture.
Black fills up every knot
Suggest that darkness, negativity, and constriction pervade every aspect of one's surroundings and state of being.
Scratch up synthetic substance
Disturb the surface of the artificial, revealing its hollow or delusional nature - akin to scratching a veneer to expose the underlying material.
Break up the fall
Prevent or lessen the impact of a catastrophic event - or alternatively, disrupt a state of free fall or stagnation.
Grind 2 halt, slam it shut
Use repeated, forceful action in order to forcefully stop or change something, conveyed through the imagery of grinding - possibly referring to overcoming obstacles in the creative process or resisting negative forces in life in general.
Never stop, make the cut
Imply the necessity of relentless action, of pushing forward despite setbacks or opposition, and of decisively making difficult choices.
Carve confusion, bright illusion
Convey the ability to manipulate confusion or uncertainty into a desired shape or form, creating a superficially appealing illusion - possibly related to artistic or personal manipulation of perception.
Drive to burn up the road
Portray a relentless desire for movement, speed, and onward progress, akin to speeding down a highway with no destination or stopping point.
Visions begin to glow
Express a sense of clarity and inspiration that suddenly brightens and amplifies one's creative vision or life goals.
It starts to heavy the load
Suggest that the growing intensity of one's ambitions or desires puts a strain on one's emotional or mental state, leading to a sense of pressure or burden.
Still I'm liable, twist in my side
Acknowledge a sense of responsibility or ownership of one's creative or personal endeavors, despite facing difficulties or discomfort.
Grind 2 halt, slam it shut
Reiterate the need for consistent effort and decisive action, with the added implication of needing to halt or silence negative influences or critics.
Grind 2 halt, slam it shut
Repeat the chorus as an emphatic statement of willpower, resistance, and perseverance.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANTONIO CAMPOS, WAYNE WELLS, WAYNE R. (STATIC-X) WELLS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind