Static-x SHADOW ZONE

Static-X: Wayne Static (vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming); Tripp Rex Eisen (guitar); Tony Campos (bass, background vocals); Nick Oshiro (drums).
Additional personnel includes: Ken Jay (keyboards); Josh Freese (drums).
Recorded in Los Angeles, California.
Personnel: Wayne Static (vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming); Ken Jay (keyboards); Josh Freese (drums).
Audio Mixer: Ulrich Wild.
Recording information: NRG, North Hollywood, CA; Pulse Recordings, Los Angeles, CA.
Photographer: Annamaria DiSanto.
Despite changing personnel for the second consecutive album, Static-X has successfully continued down the path of hard-charging industrial rock on their third album, SHADOW ZONE. In an odd move, drummer Nick Oshiro is named in the liner notes as the departed Ken Jay's replacement despite the fact that A Perfect Circle's Josh Freese was responsible for all the drumming on this outing. Regardless of who was bashing skins, Static-X has clung to their formula of jackhammer tempos, lead-pipe riffs and pounding time-keeping on songs like "Destroy All," the title cut, and "Kill Your Idols." Of course, Wayne Static, the singer that looks like the guy in the Slim Jim commercials, maintains his position front and center, and although he still howls through numbers like "Otsegolectric" and "Monster," he's also managed to harness his aggression on more melodic fare like "The Only" and "So." Concerns by diehard fans over personnel changes that might affect Static-X's overall sound end up being for naught, as SHADOW ZONE succeeds in showcasing the band's more progressive direction.

• Format: CD
• Genre: Rock