Static-X
House of Blues Cleveland
Cleveland, OH
March 26, 2023
by Andrew Latshaw
March 26th, Static-X headlined a sell out show at the beautiful and intimate House of Blues in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. This tour, Rise of the Machine was originally announced in late 2019 I believe. Sadly, the pandemic put the globe on a pause of sorts and as the old saying goes: “Anticipation makes the heart grow founder!”
I can tell you that after almost three years of waiting, I was ready for this show and every single band that played made the wait worthwhile!
First to take the stage was Cultus Black, based out of North Carolina they have been on tour for what seems like the last two years straight! They are promoting their self-titled album which was just released on March 10th, 2023. If you have not heard this CD yet, pick up a copy at the show or head over to whichever streaming service you prefer and check these guys out! Their performance was energetic, it was unhinged! The vocalist, who is known as L, he is the cult leader and the other members H and T (guitars), E (drums), Z (percussion) and M (bass), they wear masks to display their levels or rankings within the cult. As mentioned, they are all wearing masks, but their exaggerated and animated body language the set mixed with the looks you get as you get glimpses of eye contact through cutouts for them to see was exhilarating! Seeing this level of a performance from a band that early on the ticket was phenomenal!
After their set, they were at the merch tables and I was fortunate enough to spend a good amount of time with them between sets throughout the night. These guys never broke character, and yet were grateful to the other bands, and humble with the concert goers! I can say that they make the thought of drinking the kool-aid truly enticing!
Next up was Twiztid! It was great to see Madrox and Monoxide take the stage! I have seen these guys go from just the duo to adding a drummer, and now they brought in Derek Obscura from Davey Suicide and various other projects in on bass! I was blown away by that move actually! I was standing in the photo pit as they were setting up, and I thought it was Derek, and talked to another photographer and I said to him: “That bassist looks like Derek from Davey Suicide!”
He laughed and said: “You think so? Yeah, I see the resemblance. I get why you would say that! Oh, wait a minute! It is him!” He laughed and then let me in on the fact that he is Derek’s bandmate and best bud. Derek was great as always! As Twizted’s set was their greatest hits! Opening with Phlegm in the Windpipe, Envy, Come on Let’s Get High, and finishing off strong with We Don’t Die!
It is hard for me to fathom that these guys have been at this since 2000, and they are still shredding the stage more than two decades later, it is awesome to say the least! Also, for those of you out there who are Funko Pop lovers, Twiztid just released their twin pack! I am a collector and got my pair at the show!
Dope was third to take the stage that night, and do to a personal misunderstanding I missed their set entirely. I was very disappointed at myself for missing that set! My friend told me that they absolutely killed it!
Fear Factory was the direct support for Static-X and I was shocked to see their new vocalist, Milo Silvestro! My initial thought was: Does his mother know he out this late and on a school night nonetheless! I have been listening to Fear Factory since ’95 or ’96, I want to say… Demanufacture was the first CD of theirs I ever picked up and was hooked!
Until this show, I have no recollection of ever seeing them tour, I have never seen them live! Seeing them live for the first time, and to see those familiar face backing this young guy, I thought to myself: This kid has some big shoes to fill!
They came out and got positioned for the set, and Milo blew me away! I know I am getting old now, I too quick to judge. Thinking that this guy, just because he looks young, I thought he could not carry the weight of the music I have loved for so long. While no one likes to be wrong, I happily admit that he took my thoughts and shoved them down my throat! While he was not the most dynamic performer on stage, the voice that this guy has made up for it!
What I mean is, looking at the performances that L from Cultus Black gave us, and the nonstop action of Twiztid, Milo was a bit more calm to watch, and that was fine for me! Once he got to singing, I was truly lost in the sound! The kid can carry that voice, he really did a great job! What made me laugh was when he announced some of the songs, he pointed out to some of the fans saying: “When this song was recorded, there are so many of you that were not even alive yet!”
I literally laughed out loud at this, and asked in my head: “Were you?” However, as I said before this kid may be shy in years, but he killed it! Obviously, Milo was not alone on stage! There was Tony Campos pulling double duty that night as he is with the rest of the tour playing in both Fear Factory and Static-X, Mike Heller on drums, and Dino Cazares on guitar. As Fear Factory wrapped up their set with Demanufacture, into Zero Signal, and closing with Replica, I was there in the crowd, swept up in the emotions brought on by the music, taken back to a simpler time. While it did take almost 30 years to see Fear Factory, I can say that I am so happy that I saw them this night!
The night had four truly astounding bands to kick off the night, it was time for the headliner, it was time for Static-X! The stage crew were orchestrated like a symphony of worker bees, all with one goal in mind: the show! There was a dais or a raised platform that Xer0 would start the show off from. As I stood there staring at this prop, I could not stop thinking of the trial from Pink Floyd’s movie: The Wall. Seeing the pics from other shows, and waiting with baited breath to see Xer0 in his robot costume, I was ready for the theatrics for the rise of the machine!
It was time… The lights were cut, the stage was practically pitch black! I was standing right there, in the photo pit touching the stage, leaning between the monitors and I couldn’t see hardly anything. Then I saw the crew holding up a black sheet to get Xer0 to the platform and just like that, the stage was so bright, it was blinding and disorienting, and within a split second of the lights, you heard the familiar sound of Permanence! Unmistakable, that intro started and I knew it was go time!
The new outfit Xero was wearing, in a word breathtaking! The mask, the cable hair, the red glowing lights, I felt like I should be looking for Sarah Connor and making a run for it!
Xer0 literally looked like he was straight out of Terminator, it was so cool! After Permanence was This is Not, then into Structural Defect. Then Xer0 introduced the rest of the band, Koishi Fukuda on guitar, Ken Jay on drums, and Tony Campos in his second set of the night on bass.
I snapped as many shots as I could of the band, I was swept up in the moment a few times where I caught myself enjoying the music a little too much and slowed down on getting the shots. Static-X played a long set, they had a 19 song set list in Cleveland and I loved every minute of that list! Towards the end of the show, they did a cover of Nine Inch Nail’s Terrible Lie. Took me surprise to say the least, if I am being honest, I think I prefer their cover over the original! That was absolutely a treat!
As the night was coming to a close, they ended strong! Static-X played some of my personal favorites! They closed the show with Cold, I’m with Stupid, and finally Push It! As Static-X left the stage, and the fans filed out of the House of Blues on to Euclid Ave. late on a Sunday night, I was exhausted from the mental time traveling of the evening! I have to say out of the four times I have photographed Static-X now, this was by far the best show of theirs I have seen.
The openers starting with Cultus Black to the last note of Push It, the evening was a masterful gambit of emotions! While I see a lot of people posting their opinions of Edsel filling in for Wayne, I have to say that while we all know Xer0 is Edsel Dope, what is the problem? It is rare that another version of something will never be as good as the original, but at the same time… what is the problem? Edsel is doing great filling in for Wayne, no he will never replace him, and that was never the point. If you love the music, stop thinking and just open your ears… take a moment to appreciate that the music is there, appreciate the work that goes into it, and get out there to the show to experience it with all your senses. At the end of the day, this is my opinion and my thoughts on the show. I hope that you will take the time to appreciate and enjoy as I did and will continue to do so. Thank you for your time and attention, good night!
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