Death do they impart

Static-X play that evil disco

by Chris Kanaracus

Riding one of the heaviest crests in metal's current, popular wave is Los Angeles's Static-X, an electronica-tinged four-piece who call their Prong/ Ministry/White Zombie-ish sound "evil disco."

It's a good metaphor. Wisconsin Death Trip (Warner Bros.), the group's debut album, is a seamless, pummeling, and intensely danceable neo-industrial groove. Since its release in March 1999, Static-X hit the road in support, and they have yet to stop. In fact, the band have performed in Worcester several times already, whether opening for fellow new-metal stars Fear Factory or as part of last summer's massive Locobazooka blowout.

The latest installment of Static-X's love affair with Wo-town happens this Saturday, at the Palladium, when they'll share the stage with Powerman 5000.

They're not quite at headlining status yet, but the crowds Static-X are playing to get bigger all the time. But, Ken Jay says, their heady rise to success hasn't come at the expense of their modesty, volunteering that the foursome knows their "shit stinks like everybody else's."

Jay's sentiments don't seem facetious. The group's fanclub Web site regularly features his "Tour Diary": lengthy, rambling, highly personal (and surprisingly PG-rated) accounts of the band's life on the road. The group make it a point to visit with fans after every concert, not at staged meet-and-greet sessions, but outside the tour bus or in the alley behind the club.

Oh, and they can play, too. Their set at Locobazooka last year was a seething, adrenaline-filled affair that energized a noon-time crowd, one already a bit withered from the day's unusually hot weather. But their 40-minute set wasn't simply invigorating: it was exactly like the record, almost eerily so.

Jay is pragmatic about his band's apparent rejection of improvisation and variety of any sort. "Up until maybe two years ago, it was hard enough to get people to come and see us for free. And if they do, you've still got to give it your best effort. But a paid show? People are coming to hear what they've heard on the radio. . . . You've got to give them a great show."

A steady, year-plus string of gigs like that have paid off for the group. Rock stations nationwide snapped up Wisconsin's first two singles, "Bled for Days" and "Push It," like starving men. MTV hasn't been shy either, featuring both videos in its heavy rotation.

Jay and his bandmates cultivated their work ethic long ago. Although he co-founded Static-X with singer/guitarist Wayne Static in 1994, the two longtime friends did so after a 10-year spell in Chicago's underground metal scene. One of Static and Jay's ventures included the Goth-bent Deep Blue Dream, which briefly sported the services of Billy Corgan, of the Smashing Pumpkins.

San Diego's Tony Campos (who had spent years cranking out basslines in a series of death-metal acts) and Koichi Fukuda, a Japanese transplant interested in electronica, rounded out the group shortly after Jay and Static's arrival in California. Countless local shows and dogged grassroots promotional efforts later got Static-X a tidy Warner Bros. contract and to where they are today.

Chances are they won't be headed anywhere but up, especially in this metal-friendly, pop-music climate. Radio and MTV willing, there are at least a few more hits within the surprisingly well-rounded Wisconsin Death Trip, which takes its unusual name from the title of a photo series concerning the assorted demises of the residents of a small Wisconsin town. "Love Dump," a touching ode to a messy relationship, is endearingly, head-thumpingly abrasive.

Most of the album's other track's follow a similar lead. Only the closing "December" forgoes aggro for emo, with layered, clean-toned guitar parts, crooned (rather than gurgled/screamed), reverby vocals, and steroid-free drums.

For the most part, though, WDT covers rather familiar territory, which Jay freely admits. "There's no doubt, no doubt at all that we're heavily influenced by Ministry, Prong, groups like that. We grew up listening to and loving bands like that. I'd like to think we give it our own spin, though. I mean, we beat these songs to death before we released them."

But a great, if grueling, year aside, Jay says, he and his friends -- much like their music -- aren't close to slowing down. "We know this is our one chance, and if we fail, we don't want to have anybody but ourselves to blame. We've been working toward this for our entire lives, and we're not going to screw it up."

Static-X appear at 7 p.m. on February 19 at the Palladium. Tickets are $20. Call 797-9696.