Bled For Days: On ‘Wisconsin Death Trip’, Static-X injected hooks and fun into industrial metal

It’s a sobering reality that Wayne Static of Static-X is no longer with us. But from 1999 until his passing in 2014, the band’s brand of self-described “Evil Disco” (which merged industrial, nu-metal, and electronic influences into a melting pot of intrigue) was immensely popular, becoming one of the few industrial bands to really break into the mainstream. Though the quality of their music varied a bit from album to album, it’s clear that 1999 debut album Wisconsin Death Trip was a highly influential and quality album. Its popularity ensured that, despite being the peak of CD sales in the world this year, also peaked at #107 on the Billboard 200.

All the important Static-X tracks are here – iconic songs like “Bled For Days” and especially megahit “Push It” were some of the band’s best overall. The thing is, though, the album isn’t completely frontloaded. Songs like “Fix” and especially “Stem” pulse with the kind of hooks that some industrial and nu-metal bands of the time period simply weren’t that great at writing. This dichotomy made for an album that had serious crossover appeal, never quite being too abrasive to gain a fanbase, but also not really lacking in quality either. And it’s not like their later material didn’t have some compelling songs, especially their hits “The Only” and “Cold”, which were all over rock radio. Seriously, this is the kind of album that helped inject fun and energy into industrial and nu-metal music. How does a band like this inject such huge hooks into songs like “Push It” and “Trance Is The Motion”, when industrial music is generally known for NOT having such hooks? Talent, tbh.

What’s more is that Wayne’s vocals are easy to understand, despite a complete lack of actual singing. Keep in mind, this was an era where bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit were all over TRL, making for an increased attention on heavier music. This, as well as the popularity of industrial music in general, positioned bands like Static-X to break through the noise. Though Wayne Static is no longer with us, fans will always remember him by this influential record. Wisconsin Death Trip stands tall as a fairly unique and highly interesting piece of late ’90s, well, “Evil Disco”. RIP, Wayne. Thanks for the music.