Static-X Project Regeneration album review

 

Static-X have returned with their first studio album since the tragic death of frontman Wayne Static in 2014. `Project Regeneration Vol.1` sees the band issuing 12 tracks of new music, most of them featuring the vocals of their late frontman in some of his last performances.

Original Static-X members Tony Campos , Koichi Fukada and Ken Jay have even enlisted some guest vocalists to fill in the blanks that were left when Wayne Static passed away. The most notable one is Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen on final track `Dead Souls`.

Bassist Tony Campos said:

 “I’m really excited to finally get the record out to the fans. I know
they’ve been waiting a long time for this, but I’m hoping once they
get it, they’ll hear the love, sweat, and tears we put into it, and feel
like we’ve done right by them, Wayne’s family, and Wayne’s
memory.”

For an album that was pieced together in a far from ideal situation, the end result is remarkably coherent. Kicking things off with the furious industrial call to arms of `Hollow`, it sounds like time has stood still for Static-X. That isn’t necessarily a good  or bad thing, it just depends how willing you are to take a nostalgic trip down Nu-Metal lane.

The heavy chugging riff and electronica of `Worth Dyin For` sounds like something that came right off of the soundtrack of The Matrix and its sure to please old-school Static-X fans. Tracks like the furious sounding `All These Years` or the electronic tinged `Bring You Down` are unlikely to win over any new fans but at the same time sure to delight old ones and surely that’s the point of this entire project.

As a gift to their hardcore fans and a fitting tribute to their late frontman, Static-X have certainly accomplished what they set out to achieve with `Project Regeneration Vol.1`. With a 2nd volume due imminently and possible future tours on the horizon, this seems more like the end of an era rather than the end of a band.