Music

Retro Review: Static-X ‘Wisconsin Death Trip’

Published

13 years ago

January 31, 2011

I’m gonna take you on a dark journey. Back to when bubblegum pop ruled every radio and TV station. Back when metal started becoming super awful and mainstream. This journey goes back 12 years ago, the year was 1999. Fortunately, if you looked hard enough you could find yourself a somewhat decent metal band. That year one of my favorite industrial metal albums came out. It was Static-X’s “Wisconsin Death Trip”.

Is this album still as rad as it was 12 years ago? Was it even really good when it came out? Well I’ll be the judge of that. Read past the break for the review!

The album’s opener is “Push It”, which you can identify super quick with the first snare hit of the song. “Push It” was such a quick, fast, heavy and above all super catchy song. It felt like at one point everyone liked that song, but none the less it is one of the best opening songs I have ever heard and to this day the song still rules.

The album picks up the pace with the next two songs “I’m With Stupid” and “Bled For Days” which are just as catchy as the album’s opening song. Some of the best songs on the album though never really got much attention mainly due to the fact that they were a little slower, but songs like “Stem” and “December” really showed off the extent of Wayne Static’s talents. Not too mention how much Skinny Puppy had an influence.

I’ve been listening to this album about once or twice a week for the past month and I must say it really holds up. The album is really entertaining and was really well produced. The album still isn’t boring and is just as catchy as I remember it being the first time I listened to it. To this day the album remains a fan favorite and I can see why.

My final thoughts: It’s still rad. I think this album is still good and a nice addition to my record collection. If you own this album go back and listen to it. If you remember liking it chances are you still do and will enjoy yourself. If you’ve never heard this album before I’d suggest watching the video above of “Push It” and ask yourself why am I not listening to this album right now?

Related Topics:Metal Retro Review review Static-X Wisconsin Death Trip

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Music

“He Walks By Night” – Listen to a Brand New John Carpenter Song NOW!

Published

2 weeks ago

April 9, 2024

John Squires

It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.

“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…