*** Static X

WISCONSIN DEATH TRIP

(Warner Bros.)

Despite the first track's obvious borrowings from Rob Zombie's drum-and-techno thrash style, the four lunaguys who call themselves Static X find plenty of sonic noise space all to themselves. They rasp their vocals roughly enough ("Bled for Days," "Push It") but always with a melodic flavor; they never sound as distortedly campy as Rammstein, or as painfully theatrical as Trent Reznor. Their riffs slash and crunch but always feel fleshed out, even funky ("I Am"; "Stem") -- unlike the parched minimalisms (acid-house-derived) of the Chemical Brothers. They even embrace orchestration, hi-NRG beats, and sultry girl vocals -- try the Euro-disco intro of "Love Dump" -- far beyond the metallic limitations of standard techno. In short, Wisconsin Death Trip feels more like dreamy flight than deadly flog, a rhythmic pump just as purple as the perfumed darksides of KMFDM, say, and just as silken as KMFDM's semi-feminine mannerisms.

-- Michael Freedberg