Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
Surprising news arriving from the camp of beloved industrial metal band STATIC-X.
The surviving band members from the band’s 1999 platinum-selling début full-length album, ‘Wisconsin Death Trip‘ – bassist Tony Campos, guitarist Koichi Fukuda, and drummer Ken Jay – have joined forces once again to release a new album.
That album, ‘Project Regeneration‘, is expected to arrive in the spring of 2019, and will coincide with plans for a world tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the ‘Wisconsin Death Trip‘ release. The band plans to perform the majority of that introductory album at each show, while headline dates will serve as memorial events to honor late frontman Wayne Static, who passed away four years ago. More information on the world tour and other dates will be coming soon.
Wayne Static (aka Wayne Richard Wells) passed away on November 1, 2014. Details for the ‘Project Regeneration‘ album reveal that a multitude of unused vocal performances and musical compositions were left after Wayne’s passing and will be used. The three musicians from STATIC-X’s past aren’t the only ones returning to undertake this ambitious project, as the band’s longtime producer, Ulrich Wild, will helm the new record.
There are between 12 – 15 new songs expected to grace the album, the seventh official studio full-length from STATIC-X. For some of the unfinished tracks, STATIC-X hopes to enlist the contributions of several guest vocalists, as revealed by Tony Campos:
“We have confirmed interest from our friends David Draiman (Disturbed), Ivan Moody (Five Finger Death Punch), Al Jorgensen (Ministry), Dez Fafara (DevilDriver, Coal Chamber), Edsel Dope (Dope), Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory, Ascension Of The Watchers), and a few others. Unfortunately, due to everyone’s crazy schedules, it is a little early to know how things will shake out. We are more than confident that the album will have some incredible guest vocalists, but it should be noted that it is still too early to count anyone in 100%.“
The recruiting of the guest vocalists is being handled by SiriusXM‘s Jose Mangin, who is working alongside the band as one of the executive producers for ‘Project Regeneration‘.
A specialized pre-order campaign has been created for fans and advance contributors, whose names will appear in the liner notes of the new record. Additional special pre-order package options are also available, including ‘Project Regeneration‘ merch bundles and several old school STATIC-X merch items to commemorate the 20th anniversary of ‘Wisconsin Death Trip‘.
Find all those offers and pre-order options HERE.
Tony Campos further elaborates on these events and plans, saying:
“This is a celebration of STATIC-X, ‘Wisconsin Death Trip’, Wayne Static, and all of our fans. We are very excited about what we have created, so we wanted to involve the fans early, and in a campaign sort of way, so that they can participate with us and help to dictate some of the things that we do.”
“We feel very grateful that we have such a loyal fan base that misses the band, and misses Wayne, and I know that Wayne would appreciate all the heart and effort that we are putting into this. I’ve had some very heartfelt discussions with Wayne‘s family about doing this. They were very touched by the amount of love and effort that we have put into this new album and they have given us their full support. Having the blessing of Wayne‘s family means the world to us! I know in my heart that Wayne would be very proud!”
STATIC-X plans to do multiple video updates and a series of Facebook Live chats over the next few months to keep the fans involved as the process continues to unfold. Ken Jay and Koichi Fukuda also addressed things, with Jay commenting:
“Reuniting with the guys has been an amazing experience. It’s been so much fun sharing stories and working on new music together. Obviously, it is bittersweet because we all miss Wayne and we wish that he was here with us, doing what he did best… Evil Disco…“
And Fukuda adding:
“I am so excited to play STATIC-X songs live again! The STATIC-X sound is so big and powerful live! I can’t wait to play songs like ‘Bled For Days’, ‘Push It’ and ‘I’m With Stupid’ again.“
