Considering most people would have fully expected Static-X to have ceased in the aftermath of iconic frontman Wayne Static’s passing in 2014, the current iteration of the band is a surprisingly enjoyable one.
Once you got past the somewhat troubling image of Wayne’s replacement Xer0 being positioned as a zombified version of his predecessor, the shows the band played in tribute to him were a great reminder of how many fun songs they had.
Maybe even more impressive was the fact that when Project: Regeneration Vol. 1 was released in 2020, they still sounded worthy of the Static-X name, even if it wasn’t quite up to the standard of the band’s excellent first pair of millennium-straddling albums, Wisconsin Death Trip and Machine.
So no one really should be too shocked that Project: Regeneration Vol. 2 is a perfectly serviceable, and often very enjoyable, Static-X album. It seems impossible to imagine that fans of the band won’t be delighted to hear the thumping electronic grooves, juddering riffs and manic, rasping vocal stylings of their patented death disco all present and correct on tracks like Z0mbie or Take Control. Both are hugely catchy and are guaranteed to get heads banging and hips swinging, despite being fairly rudimentary by 2024 standards.
Admittedly, there isn’t much in the way of growth, breadth or dynamism here, with every song being some kind of attempt at industrial rock floor filler. Fourteen tracks of that (including bonus tracks), though, does start to drag a bit, and a bemusing, clunky cover of Nine Inch Nails’ Terrible Lie shows that Static-X fall short of being considered an A-list band from this genre.
These are just minor quibbles, though. Considering how many people scoffed at the very idea of Static-X without their most recognisable member when this reunion was announced, this line-up continues to prove its worth.
Project Regeneration Vol. 2 is out now via Otsego Entertainment Group
