Static-X, Shadows Fall preview

Static-X, Shadows Fall
House Of Blues, Chicago
Sunday, October 7, 2007

Three years ago it would have been crazy to think Static-X would come to town with top billing over Shadows Fall. But that is exactly what has happened in this tale of over and underachievers.

Static-X should have been over and finished some time ago. While these techy industrial metalists, led by frontman/guitarist Wayne Static, were never truly nu-metal, they released their platinum debut , Wisconsin Death Trip, in 1999 at the height of Korn and Limp Bizkit’s popularity. The band released Machine in 2001, and it went gold, but by 2003’s Shadow Zone nu-metal was dead and rotting and Static-X were struggling with lineup changes and an identity crisis that resulted in Shadow Zone‘s mush radio alt-metal. The turmoil peaked when guitarist Tripp Eisen was arrested (in two different states!) for inappropriate relationships of one kind or another with minors. But through it all, Wayne Static kept on truckin’ – every two years you’re sure to get a new Static-X album that’s sure to sell more copies than you would think possible and is sure to land them gigs at bigger-than-you-think-they-could-fill venues like The Vic. Their most recent effort, Cannibal, is their second post-Eisen (original guitarist Koichi Fukada rejoined the band in 2005) and a return to the simplistic, grunting, punch-to-the-gut style of Wisconsin Death Trip.

Shadows Fall were the talk of the town in 2004. Their War Within broke Billboard’s Top 20, an unheard-of feat for the indie metal label Century Media that released it, and along with Lamb Of God, the group were regarded as leaders of the new school of American thrash. The jump to major-label land (Atlantic) was a logical one, but this year’s Threads Of Life hasn’t exactly been the juggernaut expected, debuting at number 46 on the charts, a full 26 slots worse than War Within. What happened? Mostly, Shadows Fall made the same damn record twice. With the exception of their first full-blown ballad, “Another Hero Lost,” Shadows Fall offered nothing we didn’t already hear on War Within.

– Trevor Fisher

Click here for streaming samples of Shadows Fall.

Click here for streaming samples of Static-X.

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly