Interview by with Wayne Static of Static X by wils


Wils - First off, congrats on the new album 'Cannibal', definitely one of your best offerings to date! Are you pleased with the response you've had so far?

W - Yeah, everyone's been diggin' it.

"I wanted to get back into the metal style of playing I did before I started Static-X"

The new album harks back to the massive sounds of Wisconsin Death Trip in places, is this Fukuda's influence coming back in, or has it been a natural progression?

I wrote most of the songs, as usual, so I would say it was a natural progression. Koichi's contribution was the awesome guitar solos.

John 5 also added some axe work to 'Cannibal's' title track, and he performed live with you recently at Ozzfest! How did that collaboration come about?

I've known John for a while now and we've always talked about collaborating. I sent him some demos and he picked Cannibal as the song he wanted to play on. We're talking about doing some writing together in the near future.

You've been destroying the main stage on Ozzfest for a while now. Unfortunately you had to cancel some European dates recently, any plans for new tours in Europe and the UK any time soon?

We probably won't make it back to Europe before next year. After Ozzfest we're doing another US tour with Shadows Fall, 3 Inches Of Blood, and Devine Heresy. Then we're going to Australia with Megadeth. And then we're gonna make another record.

Tell us a little more about 'Cannibal', what exactly did you want out of this album, and how is it a progression from 2005s 'Start A War'?

For me Cannibal marks the beginning of a new chapter for Static-X. Our line-up has been stable for the first time ever. And I really wanted to change up the direction musically. I wanted to get back into the metal style of playing I did before I started Static-X.

Wayne, you've collaborated on production with Ulrich Wild on the last couple of albums and John Travis was brought in for 'Cannibal' too, how was the recording and production period for this album?

Ulrich worked on three of our five albums. (ShadowZone was produced by Josh Abraham) So, it was not that big of a deal to work with someone other than Ulrich again. Sometimes it's cool to bring in a different guy with some different ideas. We chose John Travis because he drinks a lot and tells funny jokes...and he knows how to record shit pretty well too.

This is also your first album not to feature one of your famous 'Otsego' songs, any particular reason for this?

I got bored with the whole Otsego thing. The End.

The album artwork is awesome, did the ideas for it come from the band or was it Warner Bros/Reprise that sorted the cover?

My good friend Steven Gilmore came up with the entire concept. He did our last couple cd's as well most of the Skinny Puppy catalog and A Perfect Circle. He's an awesome artist.

Finally, how long do you expect to spend touring before you head back into the studio and we can expect another ball rattling LP?

We'll tour through November and then start writing. I hope to have the next cd out middle of next year and it will be even heavier than Cannibal. I'm just feeling the heavier shit these days.

Well guys thanks for your time and once again congrats on the awesome new album 'Cannibal.'

TITLE	DOR	COMPANY	REVIEWER	DATE MADE	RATING
Cannibal	2007		Wils	8/17/2007	4.5

<< back >>