Travis Everett – Witchgrinder ‘5 Sensory Stimulating Static-X Songs’

Posted on May 16, 2023 by walladmin

We’ve been following Melbourne-based industrial metal act Witchgrinder since 2015, but frontman Travis Everett has been following Static-X for the majority of his life and this weekend, he’ll be living out that childhood dream of opening for one of his favourite bands with their return to Australia for the Rise Of The Machines Tour.

Static-X just wrapped up the US tour which features a brand new stage show, not to mention costume for frontman XerO – who is doing a standup job of keeping Wayne Static‘s legacy alive alongside the OG members Tony Campos, Ken Jay and Koichi Fukuda

We invited Travis to share with us his go-to Static songs – to get us extra hyped for the east Coast run, also with SOiL coming along for the ride. We would have been here all day rating the band’s entire back catalogue, but settled on the list below with Travis sharing:

“There is plenty more I would have loved to chat about but I have a tour to prepare for! Can’t wait to finally hit the stage with the guys at the end of the week.”

So let’s hook in, starting with…

1. ‘I’m With Stupid’

Here I was sitting on a hill at the Falls Festival in 1998 when a promoter for Roadrunner approached me with a compilation cd they were giving away of bands that would be having a release the next year on their label. I remember getting the cd out of my bag and putting it on in my panel van for the drive home. There were a bunch of great songs on this cd but nothing like this track by Static-X. I hadn’t heard a band that sounded like this. It just blew me away. The guitar tone and riffs, massive samples and industrial sounds. That voice and tongue-in-cheek lyrics, I was hooked. I think I had to wait a few months until the album was actually released and noticed that it was only a demo version on the cd I was given. The production was even more massive on the full album. I was a fan. This song still gives me those chills to this day.

2. ‘Get to the Gone’

You never know what to expect on a band’s second album when you are going to compare it with the first. It can go either way but I honestly think Static nailed it with this one. The intro leading into opening track ‘Get to the Gone‘ hits hard. Starting off with this folky, carnivalesque music, followed by Wayne’s massive screams, brutal guitar, bass riff and fast-hitting drums. I am instantly put into a hyped-up mindset that just wants to explode and headbang. I know whenever I need to get charged up I can put this song on and without fail it will do it every time.

3. ‘Destroy All’

Another killer opener. Unlike the previous Static albums, this one took a slightly different direction with more melodic parts and catchy hooks. ‘Destroy All’ is still a massive standout to me. Once again it’s a song to get that blood flowing and that’s exactly what it does. From start to finish it doesn’t let up. It’s hard and fast and very catchy. Hearing the lyrics screaming “Destroy All” makes me just want to do exactly that. The song motivates me and brings on a sense of I won’t be defeated so get out of my way because I’m out to destroy everything and anything that gets in my way.

4. ‘Dirthouse’

‘Dirthouse’ is a fine example of less is sometimes better! This song honestly doesn’t have that much to it at all (playing-wise), but when you combine each member’s signature sound (that makes Static-X sound as unique as they do) and simplify it, this is what you get and it works! I remember I would crank the hell out of this track (like really loud) on my metal mix rotation. Not only because I was living in an old run-down apartment across the road from one of Melbourne’s major live music venues “The Tote Hotel” but the traffic outside my window was obnoxiously loud and I’d try to drown out that sound. This would get me headbanging around the house and ready for another night out on the town!

5. ‘Terminator Oscillator’

The passing of Wayne Static was so tragic, it’s hard to really get into. It affected so many people in so many different ways. As a fan and a musician myself, I didn’t really know what the future would hold for Static-X. After years and years of mourning and healing, the band surprised us with a new album called Project Regeneration! Holy shit. What’s going on here? Unreleased vocal tracks and unfinished songs all put together to make one hell of an album.

This track is heavy as fuck. It had everything I had been hoping for that I felt was missing in the previous couple of albums. Tony Campos is the real standout to me on this one. From doing mostly a few backing growls in previous songs, to standing up in front and belting out death vocals alongside the main vocals is just amazing.