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)
Start a War
Static-X Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Turn around
Feel my heart pound
Motor screaming
Sliding down
Got to turn it around
Danger nowhere
By myself
Claw my way out
Right now
Got to try to get out
[Chorus]
I'll start a war with it
I'll start a war with it
I'll start a war with this fucking emotion
I'll start my war
Against you
You're one of them
You call yourself
A victim
But you're at it again
I've felt stranger
Paradise
You made me kill
Now I'm far out
Right now
Got to try and get out
[Chorus]
I'll take it all
Give me some more
I'll take it all
The lyrics to Static-X's song "Start a War" paint a picture of a person who is revved up, and ready to explode. The first stanza describes the physical symptoms of the adrenaline rush that they are experiencing. The sliding, spinning, and motor screaming are all indications that this person is on the brink of something intense. They are also feeling a palpable sense of danger, yet they are still compelled to push forward. In the second stanza, the lyrics turn towards a more personal conflict. The singer is addressing someone who they see as a victim, even though this person seems to be causing trouble again. The singer then reveals that prior to this encounter, they were in paradise. This suggests that this person may have been a loved one or someone who was close, but they betrayed the singer in some fundamental way. The repetition of the phrase "right now, got to try and get out" indicates that the singer is attempting to extricate themselves from this situation, but it is not an easy task. The chorus provides the key to understanding the motivation behind the singer's actions: they are starting a war with their own emotions. The frustration and anger that they are feeling are so overwhelming that they feel like they must lash out, even if it means hurting others.
Line by Line Meaning
Sliding spinning
The feeling of being out of control, spiraling into chaos.
Turn around
Feeling trapped with no escape.
Feel my heart pound
The weight of my anxiety is crushing me.
Motor screaming
My thoughts are racing, drowning out any sense of calm.
Sliding down
I'm heading towards rock bottom with no brakes to slow me down.
Got to turn it around
I need to find a way to pull myself out of this downward spiral.
Danger nowhere
I'm in a constant state of fear, even in safe situations.
By myself
I feel so alone in my struggle to overcome this emotion.
I burn the thrill
I'm addicted to the chaos, even though it's destroying me.
Claw my way out
I'm fighting tooth and nail to escape this feeling.
Right now
I need to make a change immediately for my own survival.
Got to try to get out
I'm doing everything in my power to break free from this emotion.
I'll start a war with it
I will fight with every fiber of my being to overcome this emotion.
I'll start my war
I will take on this emotion and refuse to let it consume me any longer.
Against you
The emotion is causing harm to me, and I need to fight against it directly.
You're one of them
This emotion is a common enemy that many people face.
You call yourself
Others may try to label or diagnose me, but I won't let that define me.
A victim
I won't let anyone paint me as helpless in my own struggle.
But you're at it again
The emotion keeps returning, despite previous efforts to overcome it.
I've felt stranger
This emotion has turned me into someone I don't recognize.
Paradise
I was once in a better place before the emotion took over.
You made me kill
This emotion has caused me to harm myself or others in the past.
Now I'm far out
The damage has been done, and I don't know if I can recover.
I'll take it all
I'm willing to endure any amount of pain to overcome this emotion.
Give me some more
I won't back down in my fight to overcome this emotion.
I'll take it all
I can handle whatever comes my way in the pursuit of emotional freedom.
I'll start a war with this fucking emotion
This emotion has pushed me to my limits, and I'm ready to fight back with every ounce of my being.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANTONIO CAMPOS, TRIPP EISEN, WAYNE WELLS, WAYNE R. (STATIC-X) WELLS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind