STATIC-X WEDNESDAY 13/ SOIL/DOPE
ELECTRIC BALLROOM, LONDON
LA’S nu metal heroes pay tribute to their late frontman
The electric Ballroom is
packed. This is one of those rare occasions where ‘Sold out’ really does mean sold out. It’s not entirely unsurprising when the return of one of nu metal’s more credible bands has also seen Dope, Wednesday 13 and Soil join them for this tour. Dope go on at an absurdly early time, but they’re as average as ever. WEDNESDAY 13 acts like he’s headlining and intelligently tailors his set to his more cyber-gothy material. Although it’s visually great, it’s all a bit sub-zombie. Soil bring their song to town, many watches are checked before they wheeze through Halo. But none of this matters when STATIC-X arrive. Once you get over the shock of seeing a zombified carbon copy of sadly departed frontman Wayne Static (we know nothing about this individual other than bassist Tony Campos referring to him as Xero) approach the mic, this evening is a reminder of just how many great songs Static-x had in their arsenal. Admittedly, it does take some time to work out if this is a touching and tasteful tribute or an odd and slightly mawkish thing to do, but the number of times that Wayne’s visage appears on the screen and is cheered and chanted throughout the gig does convince us that it is the latter. What really makes tonight a winner is that Static-x do sound great. The songs from debut album Wisconsin Death Trip,
played in full if out of sequence tonight, have aged shockingly well; the title track, I’m With Stupid, Bled For Days and the anthemic closer Push It still sound heavy, groovy, irresistibly danceable and unique as their ‘evil-disco’ moniker would suggest. On paper, this evening could have been a car crash. Instead, it’s a timely reminder of the talent of one of metal’s fallen brethren. Static-x live on.
STEPHEN HILL