Project: Regeneration Vol. 1 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 10, 2020 | |||
Recorded | 2004–2005, 2013–2014, 2019–2020 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 39:17 | |||
Label | Otsego Entertainment Group | |||
Producer | Ulrich Wild | |||
Static-X chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Project: Regeneration Vol. 1 | ||||
Project: Regeneration Vol. 1 [6] is the seventh studio album by American industrial metal band Static-X. It was released on July 10, 2020, [7] by Otsego Entertainment Group and distributed by The Orchard Music, a subsidiary of Sony Music. It is the band's first studio album in eleven years following Cult of Static (2009), their longest gap between studio albums to date, and their first album not on Warner Bros. or Reprise Records. The album includes part of the last recordings of deceased frontman Wayne Static, who died in 2014, with his role being filled by a new frontman credited as "Xer0". Project Regeneration sees the return of the original Static-X lineup—bassist Tony Campos, guitarist and programmer/keyboardist Koichi Fukuda and drummer Ken Jay—and was produced by Ulrich Wild, who has produced and/or mixed all but two albums by the band in the past. [8]
Static-X frontman Wayne Static died in November 2014 after an accidental drug and alcohol overdose. [9] At the time of his death, he and the founding members of the band were estranged. Before his death, Static was working on demos that he sent to a producer, who was a mutual friend of Static and Tony Campos; when he rediscovered the recordings after Static's death, he contacted Campos and sent the material to him, [10] but Campos felt it was "too soon", [11] and did not revisit the recordings until 2016 [12] when Tripp Eisen contacted him with the idea to reunite and begin writing music for a Static-X reunion and album. Eisen made Campos aware of the three fully completed, mixed and mastered extra songs from the Start a War album. [13] Campos additionally found material on DA-88s [12] while he was looking for live backing tracks for the then upcoming tour; [14] because of the recording technique of the DA-88, vocals and instruments were recorded simultaneously on two different tapes, but some tapes were lost or too damaged to be recovered. [12] Some tapes also included guitars and programming; one of them, entitled "Turn It On", was eventually reworked into "Terminator Oscillator". [15] In a 2024 interview, producer Edsel Dope described the arduous process of recovering audio from the damaged tapes as "more work than anybody will probably ever know", estimating that recovering a three minute vocal take would need on average 50 edits in 2-3 second chunks, because the tape would glitch out so frequently. [16]
Although the band originally intended to recruit guest vocalists to contribute to Static's compositions, the band announced in June 2019, "We unexpectedly uncovered even more unreleased tracks left behind by Wayne... many of these had isolated vocal performances!" Consequently, the band took more time to complete the record, which "will now have fewer guest vocalists and more complete songs featuring lead vocals by Wayne Static", with the exception of Ministry's Al Jourgensen. [17] The album also includes new compositions without Static's involvement, such as "Otsego Placebo", which was originally intended for Vol. 2., but come mix time, it was "closer to the finish line than many of the other songs". [15]
The former lead guitarist Tripp Eisen has claimed twelve of the songs on the albums were co-written by him during his time in the band and has accused the current band of attempting to release his work in a heavily altered form to try to avoid paying him royalties. Eisen also stated that a "legal dispute" was the reason for the album's delay. [18]
The band has since confirmed they are using some of Eisen's contributions when responding to a fan query on Instagram but said Eisen had no involvement in the studio whatsoever and that his contributions to the album are previous composition credits only. Eisen has publicly claimed a new song is on the album ("Road to Hell", now titled "My Destruction") and additional previous compositions with Static beyond the three that are credited. [19] [20] Volume 1 ultimately included three songwriting credits to Eisen, listed only as "T. Salvador" in the CD's notes. The aforementioned "My Destruction" was not one of the three tracks credited to him. [21]
On October 23, 2018, the bassist Tony Campos, lead guitarist Koichi Fukuda and drummer Ken Jay announced that they were reforming to tour for the 20th anniversary of Wisconsin Death Trip and would release Project Regeneration, featuring compositions and vocals recorded before Static's death in 2014. Along with the announcement, the band shared a trailer for the album featuring clips from an upcoming music video and snippets of five previously unreleased songs. The band made several bundles of the album available for pre-order, with fans who pre-ordered the album able to have their name featured in the liner notes. [8] Matt Zane will direct several music videos for songs from the album. [7]
On February 6, 2020, the band released the album's first single, "Hollow (Project Regeneration)", their first single in 10 years. According to Tony Campos, "Hollow (Project Regeneration)" dates back to the recording sessions of Start a War , but was not released on the album or any album after due to the music not being fully realized. The band later replaced the instrumental tracks underneath the vocals under the advice from the producers to avoid resembling the original demo material. [22] The band also announced that they were expanding the album to two volumes because of the number of recordings they had found. [23]
On May 15, 2020, the band released the album's second single, "All These Years", with an accompanying music video. The band also announced that the album's standard release on streaming and CD had been pushed back to July 10, 2020, with the vinyl edition pushed back to August 14, due to manufacturing delays associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Tony Campos, speaking to Loudwire , said, "The album is 100% complete. We are just waiting for the manufacturing to resume. We have been given word that all is finally in production, so we are excited to get this out to the fans." [24]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 84/100 [25] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [26] |
Blabbermouth.net | 8/10 [27] |
Consequence of Sound | B+ [28] |
DriveTribe | [29] |
Sonic Perspectives | 8.5/10 [30] |
Sputnikmusic | 3.7/5 [31] |
Project Regeneration Vol. 1 was met with critical acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic (a review aggregator site which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 from music critics), based on 4 critics, the album has received a score of 84/100, which indicates "universal acclaim". Sputnikmusic called it a "labour of love" [31] and DriveTribe called it "a brilliant mix of the fast industrialism that made Wisconsin Death Trip so awesome and the more alt-metal stylings of Shadow Zone and Start a War ". [29] [ unreliable source? ] Reviewers also noted the late Static's presence on the record, writing that "despite the breakup and the very founder's death Static-X is still a Wayne Static project through-and-through", [30] and "although a fair amount of the music was re-written or heavily re-worked by the surviving band members, Wayne's sheer talent still clearly shines through". [29]
Concluding the review for AllMusic, Neil Z. Yeung claimed that "Respectfully done, Project: Regeneration Vol. 1 is a fun and technically proficient reminder that Static-X were ahead of their time and perhaps a little underrated. Through this cathartic process, the album serves as a love letter to Static and their loyal fan base, a respectful tribute that both honors his legacy and adds an unexpected new chapter to their discography." [26]
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Regeneration" | Xer0, Koichi Fukuda, Tom Shaffner | 1:00 |
2. | "Hollow (Project Regeneration)" | Tony Campos, Xer0, Ken Jay, Fukuda, Tripp Eisen, [lower-alpha 1] Wayne Static | 2:41 |
3. | "Worth Dyin For" | Campos, Xer0, Jay, Fukuda, Static | 3:26 |
4. | "Terminator Oscillator" | Campos, Xer0, Jay, Fukuda, Static | 3:13 |
5. | "All These Years" | Campos, Xer0, Jay, Fukuda, Nikk Dibs, Static | 3:56 |
6. | "Accelerate" | Campos, Xer0, Jay, Fukuda, Dibs | 2:48 |
7. | "Bring You Down (Project Regeneration)" | Campos, Xer0, Jay, Fukuda, Eisen, Static | 3:35 |
8. | "My Destruction" | Campos, Xer0, Jay, Fukuda | 3:29 |
9. | "Something of My Own (Project Regeneration)" | Campos, Xer0, Jay, Fukuda, Eisen, Static | 2:52 |
10. | "Otsego Placebo" | Campos, Xer0, Jay, Fukuda, Shaffner | 4:20 |
11. | "Follow" | Campos, Xer0, Jay, Fukuda, Static | 3:08 |
12. | "Dead Souls" (featuring Al Jourgensen [12] ) | Campos, Xer0, Jay, Fukuda, Static | 4:44 |
Total length: | 39:17 |
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
---|---|
Scottish Albums (OCC) [33] | 95 |
US Billboard 200 [34] | 48 |
Static-X is an American industrial metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1994. The line-up has fluctuated over the years, but was long-held constant with band founder, frontman, vocalist and rhythm guitarist Wayne Static until his death in 2014.
Wayne Richard Wells, known professionally as Wayne Static, was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, keyboardist, and primary lyricist for the industrial metal band Static-X. He also released a solo album, Pighammer, in 2011. Static was recognizable for his unusual hairstyle; his hair was held up in a vertical position, a process that took about 20 minutes to complete. He was also known for his signature "chintail" beard.
Machine is the second studio album by American industrial metal band Static-X, released on May 22, 2001, and recorded at Studio 508. When compared to the band's other albums, Machine features more electronics and industrial effects, and more screamed vocals from Wayne Static. It was also the final Static-X album for eighteen years to feature drummer Ken Jay, and the last for four years to feature lead guitarist Koichi Fukuda, who, despite having already left Static-X, was credited as a keyboardist on the album.
Shadow Zone is the third studio album by American industrial metal band Static-X, released on October 7, 2003. Marked by many personnel and stylistic changes, the album sports a much more melodic sound than any other work in their catalog, while still staying in the confines of their industrial metal and nu metal sound. It was the first of two albums to feature guitarist Tripp Eisen, and is the band's only album to not feature an official drummer, due to the departure of Ken Jay just prior to the album's recording sessions; drumming duties were subsequently handled by Josh Freese.
Murderdolls was an American rock band formed in Hollywood, California in 2002. Its lineup consisted of core members Wednesday 13 and Joey Jordison while former touring members included Ben Graves, Acey Slade, Eric Griffin and Tripp Eisen.
Beneath... Between... Beyond... is the first compilation album by American industrial metal band Static-X, released on July 20, 2004, through Warner Bros. Records. It is a compilation of previously unreleased tracks, remixes, cover versions, and the band's original demo tracks. The band did some touring in support of the album.
Koichi Fukuda is a Japanese musician, best known as the lead guitarist, programmer and keyboardist for the American industrial metal band Static-X; he has been a member of the band three times, initially from 1994 to 2000, again from 2005 to 2010 and since 2018. He was also the former lead guitarist of the bands Drugstore Fanatics and Bellusira.
Start a War is the fourth studio album by American industrial metal band Static-X, released in June 2005. A special version was shipped with an additional DVD titled X-Rated. It is the last album for 15 years to feature Ulrich Wild as a producer and/or a mixer, until Project: Regeneration Vol. 1 in 2020.
Tod Rex Salvador, known professionally as Tripp Eisen, is an American musician and convicted sex offender, best known as the former guitarist of industrial metal band Static-X. He is the current guitarist for the band Face Without Fear, and a former member of Dope, Murderdolls, and Roughhouse.
Dope is an American nu metal band from New York City, formed in 1997. The band has released seven full-length studio albums with their most recent studio album, Blood Money Part Zer0, being released in February 2023. The lineup currently consists of founding member and lead singer Edsel Dope, guitarist Virus, bassist Acey Slade and drummer Daniel Fox.
Brian Charles Ebejer, known professionally as Edsel Dope, is an American musician who is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter for nu metal/industrial metal band Dope. Dope was founded in 1997 by Edsel and his brother Simon (keyboards) in New York City.
Antonio "Tony" Campos is an American musician. He is the current bassist for industrial metal bands Static-X and Fear Factory and the vocalist and bassist for extreme metal band Asesino. He is also a former bassist for Prong, Soulfly, Ministry and Possessed, and a former vocalist for the metal band Brujeria. Following the death of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Wayne Static and the resurrection of Static-X, Campos is the longest-serving member of the band, and the only one to appear on every studio album.
Cannibal is the fifth studio album by American industrial metal band Static-X, released on April 3, 2007. This is the first album from the band to contain guitar solos; every song with the exception of "Goat" has one. Cannibal was the first album to be produced by John Travis, and the first album to not feature Ulrich Wild, who produced and/or mixed the band's first four albums.
Kenneth "Ken Jay" Lacey is an American musician, best known as the original drummer and the co-founder of industrial metal band Static-X.
American industrial metal band Static-X has released eight studio albums, one live album, one compilation album, one video album, one extended play, nineteen singles, three promotional singles and twenty-two music videos.
Cannibal Killers Live is a CD/DVD box set by American industrial metal band Static-X. It is the first time the band has released a live album, and contains footage from a live performance in Spokane, Washington. Cannibal Killers Live contains the entire library of the band's officially released videos, and is accompanied by a CD that contains the audio for the Spokane concert. There was also a special edition of the set which was only attainable through Static-X's website. The special edition included a third disc containing a concert filmed in Los Angeles, 1997.
Cult of Static is the sixth studio album by American industrial metal band Static-X. It was released on March 17, 2009 via Reprise Records. The album's first single "Stingwray" was released and made available on the band's MySpace page on February 17, 2009. The album's title is a reference to the die-hard fans who have supported the band for so long. This would be Static-X's last studio album for eleven years, as well as the last to feature drummer Nick Oshiro and founding member and vocalist Wayne Static during his lifetime, though the latter's posthumously released work was included on the band's 2020 album Project: Regeneration Vol. 1. Cult of Static also marked the last time Static-X worked with John Travis, and was the band's last album on Reprise Records.
Andre Michel Karkos, known professionally as Virus, is an American musician most recognized for playing lead guitar for the industrial metal/rock band Dope. He is also known for his work with metal band Device.
Roughhouse was an American glam metal band founded as Teeze in 1983.
Project: Regeneration Vol. 2 is the 8th studio album by American industrial metal band Static-X.. It features 14 tracks, with some of the final material written and recorded by the late vocalist Wayne Static. It was slated to release on November 3, 2023, but was eventually announced to be pushed back to January 26, 2024.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)