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)
New Pain
Static-X Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Manifestes in, into my head
I feel new pain, becoming part
Of my every, every moment now
[Chorus]
New Pain, you told me you wanted and hated me
New Pain, you kill me now this becomes part
I'm so sure I'm, so confused I'm
All things to you, nothing to you
I feel new pain, in these shadows
Of my every, every moment now
[Chorus: x2]
You told me that you wanted me
You told me you hate me
Tear for our suffering
Told me that I'm the one
You wanted to kill me
And now it makes this all ugly
Becomes part of me
Turning into this new pain
Your horse I ride, bite down hard
And now I suffer
My heart to my mind it burns
Rips it hurts, it kills
The lyrics of Static-X's song New Pain describe the feeling of being overwhelmed by negative and confusing emotions, as the singer is "misdirected" and "confused". The opening lines set the tone for the rest of the song, as the singer hears something "manifest" in their head, and they feel a new pain taking hold of them. The pain becomes a part of their every moment, perhaps indicating that it's a chronic and persistent issue in their life.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "New Pain" several times, emphasizing the theme of the lyrics. The repetition of the phrase "you told me" suggests that the source of the pain is external, coming from someone else. The other person wants the singer but also hates them, which leads to a lot of confusion and suffering. The lyrics suggest that the singer is caught in a situation where they are torn between being everything and nothing to the other person.
The final lines of the song depict the pain as becoming a part of the singer, turning into a "new pain". This suggests that the pain is not going to go away anytime soon and that the singer will have to learn to live with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Misdirected, I'm awakened
I am confused and disoriented as I come to consciousness
Manifestes in, into my head
A new idea starts to form and take shape in my mind
I feel new pain, becoming part
The pain I feel is now a constant, unchanging part of my life
Of my every, every moment now
I cannot escape this pain, it is with me every waking moment
[Chorus] New Pain, you told me you wanted and hated me
The pain is personified and is both desired and despised by me
New Pain, you kill me now this becomes part
The pain is so intense that it feels like it is killing me and has taken over my life
I'm so sure I'm, so confused I'm
I have conviction in my beliefs, but they are conflicting and confuse me
All things to you, nothing to you
I try to be everything and nothing to another person at the same time
I feel new pain, in these shadows
The pain lurks in the background, waiting to strike at any moment
Of my every, every moment now
Again, the pain is omnipresent and inescapable
[Chorus: x2] New Pain, you told me you wanted and hated me
Reiterating the conflicting feelings of wanting and hating the pain
Tear for our suffering
Bemoaning the shared pain and hardships experienced with another person
Told me that I'm the one
Believing that I am the sole cause of someone else's pain
You wanted to kill me
Feeling that another person desires to hurt or destroy me
And now it makes this all ugly
The presence of pain has caused everything to feel unpleasant and unattractive
Becomes part of me
The pain has integrated itself into my very being
Turning into this new pain
The pain has transformed into something new and more intense
Your horse I ride, bite down hard
Metaphorically being forced to endure a painful experience that someone else has created
And now I suffer
The pain is causing me to experience intense suffering
My heart to my mind it burns
The pain is not just physical, but also causing emotional distress
Rips it hurts, it kills
The pain is so extreme that it feels like it is tearing me apart and causing death within me
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANTONIO CAMPOS, KENNETH LACEY, KENNETH JAY LACEY, TRIPP EISEN, WAYNE WELLS, WAYNE R. (STATIC-X) WELLS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@antona.1327
Man, if Wayne was still around, Static X would keep slaying the shit out of our ears. Wayne actually wanted to start using 7 and 8 string guitars for his music and tune even lower than B. Imagine how hard their current shit would sound. .
@davidkorpiewski1525
Has to be one of the best Static X songs ever!!! I can't stop listening to it since I found it weeks ago!
@daryear8019
David Korpiewski +++, also the only and control it
@tonybologna694
Dirthouse and just in case are also good and if u got those listen to so and Set it off ;). He will be missed by metal fans everywhere
@kenedyalonso5788
Me too ! 😂
@askates9623
dude the whole album is fantastic. static-x rules!
@xPickUpYourFeetx
When I was 12 and wanted to be a WWE superstar this was going to be my entrance music
@dougpolasky8676
This is the coolest, realest comment lol mine was gonna be jump in the fire. I wanted to team up with Jeff and matt hardy lol
@ash2569
Such a shame that Wayne died.
R.I.P. Wayne Static. He inspired many bands to become what they are today.
@jkrk6696
+Ashton Priest You are Goddamn right. This is a legend now.