By Vanessa Marie Carlson
Following the 2020 release of Static-X’s seventh studio album, Project Regeneration: Vol. 1, the highly anticipated sequel, Project Regeneration: Vol. 2, has made its way onto the scene. After a chaotic four years of the world regenerating and reorienting itself in many regards, this album truly could not have come at a better time.
Produced by the band’s current vocalist/guitarist Xer0 and mixed/mastered by long-time collaborator Ulrich Wild Static-X’s go-to since their debut album and Billboard Chart-topper, Wisconsin Death Trip, this new release is sure to bring the feel of underground nu metal back to the forefront. The band’s original lineup of guitarist Koichi Fakuda, bassist Tony Campos, and drummer Ken Jay, fronted by Xer0 who joined Static-X in 2019, successfully mix the dark and heavy with the distinct edginess that makes this hybrid genre so widely appreciated.
Track 1 titled “Stay Alive” opens with the mechanical ambience that late 90s and early 2000s nu metal is known for through the intro, and then punches in at the fifteen second mark with a more traditional heaviness that exemplifies and separates Static-X’s cross-genre coverage from others in the scene.
Alternatively, “Tone,” which is placed in the eighth track slot, has a synth-pop inspired introduction taken from the other side of the vast nu metal spectrum. It melts into a blend of industrial and hard rock before the first chorus, yet weaves back in and out throughout the song.
Static-X has been notably influenced by bands such as Ministry, Prong, and System of a Down. These roots are especially visible in the fifth track, titled “Kamikaze.” With lyrics belting commands like “GO,” and “Do it Do it Do it Do it,” it sounds as though grunge is back on hold and the progressive margin is once again being beautifully pushed. Before the original grunge era and still standing after the subsequent post-grunge shift, is another clear Static-X inspiration known as Nine Inch Nails. Track 13 (Bonus Track 1) is a cover of the Nine Inch Nails 1989 hit “Terrible Lie” from their first record Pretty Hate Machine. Static-X’s every crackle, hiss, and instrumental backbeat serves as a vessel for the original song, which is an extraordinary feat.
The fourteen song album definitely accomplishes bringing the so-called “Evil Disco” that we know and love to iPhones and iPods rather than to CD players and Walkmans.
With its broad range of sound, vibe, and overall tonality, there is something on the impeccable Project Regeneration: Vol. 2 for everyone, nu metal fanatic or new to the world of metal. Wayne Static would surely be proud of his legacy’s triumph.
Be sure to catch Static-X on tour with Sevendust.
