Static-X Brought Down the House With a Killer Set at Delmar Hall Wednesday
–by Keith Brake
So, you say you like loaded shows? Shows that mix past and present? Shows that have great energy and a five band bill? Well then, I sure hope you were at Delmar Hall in Saint Louis this past Wednesday for the Rise Of The Machine tour featuring Static-X, Fear Factory, DOPE, Twiztid and Cultus Black. It was an amazing evening of metal, industrial and metal rap fusion excellence. So let’s get to it!
Hello MwRw friends and family, Keith here again with my thoughts and images from this killer show at Delmar Hall. Any time I get a chance to cover a 5-band bill AND be allowed to photograph 5 songs from each from the pit, well, I KNOW it’s going to be an amazing evening. The show kicked off right on schedule, went 110% from the first note and never disappointed the sold-out Delmar crowd. This show was originally slated to happen a little over 2 years ago, but COVID saw fit to disallow that from happening. So, with 24+ months of anticipation the crowd was more than ready.
Cultus Black took the stage first and immediately slapped this willing crowd right in the face with a dose of high energy metal. This group, veiled in masks minus the lead vocalist, who is known simply as “L”. In fact, all of the band members are known as single letters H and T (guitars), E (drums), Z (percussion) and M (bass). This group may have been the opener but that did not hold them back in any way, the music was played to perfection and at the conclusion of their set I saw many from the crowd head to their merch booth to purchase shirts and CDs. Cultus Black, if you enjoy metal do yourself a favor and get educated!
Next was Twiztid, a rap metal fusion group fronted by vocalists Jamie “Madrox” Spaniolo and Paul “Monoxide” Methric. Both of these rappers feature white face paint and curry great energy through the entire set. Driving drum beats mixed with heavy guitar accompaniment make for a great sound while Madrox and Monoxide work the stage and the crowd from side to side. My favorite moment from their set had to be the performance of Kill Somebody but that is not to say any other selections were lacking. They were not. Twiztid played a great set and gained a few new fans this evening.
The third set featured DOPE. I am not bashful about saying that I am a huge DOPE fan so this entire set was a highlight for me. The lineup currently consists of founding member and lead singer Edsel Dope, guitarist Virus, bassist Acey Slade and drummer Daniel Fox and they sounded amazing. Edsel still sounds as good as ever and his stage presence is almost haunting. Acy and Virus are high energy, and they never disappoint with their stage antics.
I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite moment from this set, but I must say being in the photo pit for “Debonaire“ was pretty damn sweet! Edsel joked and interacted with the sold-out crowd and had them laughing when they were not jumping and moshing. We are all getting old AzF Dope stated. “We used to worry about who was driving and where the weed was, now we worry about finding babysitters and shit.” All in all a great set that, for me, came to an end a bit too soon.
The crowd was good and primed by the time Fear Factory took the stage and by this time all of the sold-out crowd had made their way to the venue from work and such. It. Was. Packed. Dino Cazares is the only original member remaining in the current lineup. With that said, the current lineup did NOT disappoint in ANY way. New front man Milo Silvestro (who comes to the band as a fan from Rome, Italy) carries the vocal duties out with ease and precision while Mike Heller (Drums) and Antonio Campos (Bass) hold down some of the hardest grooves you can imagine. When I tell you this rhythm section is as tight as you may ever see, it could still be an understatement. Unbelievable. The group played selections from most of Fear Factory’s albums pulling songs back into rotation for this tour from the 90’s. The band gave those in the crowd that were longtime FF fans a tremendous set. No gaps and no loss of brutality. Everything Fear Factory was once, they are again.
Well, at this point I could have walked out of the venue feeling completely satisfied that I had been to a killer show. But wait, there’s MORE. Static-X slammed the lid on a fantastic evening of amazing music. As any fan knows, original vocalist Wayne Static is no longer with us so the band is now fronted by a “cyborg” named Xer0. Xer0 does an amazing job paying tribute to Wayne and stepping in so the live experience can continue. It has been long suspected that Edsel Dope, lead vocalist of DOPE, is behind the Xer0’s amazing stage wardrobe. The fact that DOPE is on this tour allows this to still be plausible. Combining the fact the Edsel and Wayne were great friends it does make sense.
Also, Dope released a new album in February, Blood Money Part Zer0. Coincidence, perhaps. Regardless of who is behind the mask, the music and the performance is amazing. Highlight after highlight came from this set, Bled For Days, I’m With Stupid, Push It. I could go on but you get the point. The walls of LED panels behind the band offer amazing visuals to go along with flawlessly delivered music. Static-X reunited in 2018 with the lineup of original members bassist Tony Campos, guitarist Koichi Fukuda, and drummer Ken Jay and these guys are on point. Without this original element I feel the band would not be selling out almost every stop along the Rise Of The Machine tour.
In closing, it was a helluva night of industrial metal; one that any metalhead would have been proud to be part of. If you were there, please let me know what you thought of the show in the comments below the photo gallery.
Peace, Keith.
Static-X Setlist:
Permanence
This Is Not
Structural Defect
Black and White
LoveDump
Wisconsin Death Trip
Fix
Bled for Days
Sweat of the Bud
Terminator Oscillator
Just in Case
Destroy All
Dirthouse
Get to the Gone
Cannibal
Terrible Lie
Encore:
Cold
I’m With Stupid
Push It
