You Need the ‘Rise of the Machine’ Tour in Your Life!

Review by Chad Thomas Carsten Photos by Liam Himel

The ‘Rise of the Machine’ tour is an industrial metal dream come true for any die-hard Static-X fan. After more than a year and multiple reschedules, long-time fans were beyond ecstatic that Static-X have finally hit the highway to hell to begin another ‘rock ‘n’ roll journey in honor of their 2001 classic LP ‘Machine’! We know it’s been one hell of an an emotional roller coaster ride waiting for this moment to arrive! As soon as fans heard about the tour announcement, they all indubitably knew that they had to be there, no matter what! The chance to see their life long favorite band live was too good to pass up.

In regards to Static-X, their new stage show was unlike anything concert attendees had ever seen before; everything felt larger than life for Static-X this time around. From the jaw-dropping “Terminator” influenced costume worn by frontman XerO, to their mind-melting visuals across gigantic psychedelic like screens, meshed with their flawless captivating stage presence, they put on a performance that will never be forgotten. With every note Static-X played, it felt like we were all connected in one big Static-X “Evil Disco” musical galaxy – concert goers were all experiencing a truly groundbreaking “stress releasing” heavy metal concert together. All within the Plaza venue in downtown Orlando, Florida!

*Editors Note: Mushroomhead had to unfortunately cancel the Orlando, Florida date due to vehicle issues*

Society 1 ( Los Angeles, California) was the first to take the stage at the “Sold Out” “Rise of the Machine” concert. Most seemed to have had never heard of them before, but their sound was mad fresh! The band’s raw energy swiftly filled the Plaza and they quickly caught my attention. currently fronted by the herculean vocalist Matt Lord Z. His powerful vocals and dynamic stage presence radiated throughout the venue as he sang about his hellish experiences in life. As each song ended, you could feel through out the crowd, that people were becoming more enamored by this enigmatic frontman who seemed to have it all together on-stage, despite being surrounded by hard rock chaos. His onstage charismatic attitude taught fans about perseverance and commitment, values which will always stay with everyone long after the concert night had ended.

The moment the modern hard rock legends Dope (New York City) took the stage, you could feel a new surge of explosive music energy burst within the Plaza, among the crowd. Fans were all ready to let loose. like they had been waiting in anticipation for this moment for decades. Everyone was screaming and cheering as they immediately recognized the opening notes of the ass kicker single “I’m Back” from Dope’s fan favorite 2005 LP “American Apathy”!

As soon as Dope started bringing about their signature sound, circle pits began to form and people started moshing around like it had become the last days of their own lives. It was an extraordinary experience to be part of such an enthusiastic audience that was so passionate about an artist’s signature sound. The concert environment seemed like it had completely shifted from when when attendees first arrived at the venue; with Dope’s arrival, it pulsated with metallic energy and mayhem. You could easily tell by scanning over the crowd, everyone’s eyes were trained on Dope—as they were all musically enthralled by how well Dope presented themselves on stage with pure rocker professionalism!

The fans were without a question deeply enjoying every second of their awe-inspiring showmanship. Towards the end of Dope’s set. Frontman Edsel Dope explained his distaste for social media censorship and not having a need for record labels. He let everyone in attendance know that if they signed up for the official Dope mailing list at https://dopetheband.com, all fans would receive the brand new Dope album “Blood Money Part Zer0” one-hundred percent free! As well as being up to date with the bands touring schedules and any new Dope music news. Dope then ended their set with their explosive cover of Die or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”, with the crowd cheering as loud as they possibly could!

During the year 1989, Fear Factory (Los Angeles, California) originally formed as the mighty industrial metal band Ulceration . Since their inception, they have released ten studio albums and were even nominated various times for Grammy Awards. It was no surprise that when Fear Factory begun their live crushing industrial assault, as the second to last act of the night, the crowd went super apeshit! Most people in attendance had grown up alongside Fear Factory’s beautiful music evolution from a relatively unknown heavy metal act to one of the giants of industrial metal.

Fear Factory’s spine shattering setlist included songs from all eras of their career, with most songs taken from their first three albums – ‘Soul Of A New Machine’, ‘Demanufacture’ and ‘Obsolete’ – which made a ton of older fans and an abundant of new fans alike, particularly happy. As each song ended and everyone sang along to every word, it was easy to see that music can bring people together regardless of age or background. New Fear Factory frontman Milo Silvestro held his own on stage. As his astonishing showmanship proved he was destined to rock the microphone since he was born, due to his extraordinary vocal range.

Industrial metal superstars Static-X (Los Angeles, California) frightfully, scientifically, returned to Orlando, Florida for another sold out ‘Rise of the Machine’ tour date! After twice being postponed due to the pandemic, fans were foaming at the mouth in mad thrilling excitement to finally experience the band live after a year and a half hiatus.

The platinum status band took over The Plaza venue for a glorious momentous evening that had many fans unleashing decades of built-up stress through the intensity that is Static-X! Fans roared with approval as Static-X played fan favorites such as “Push It”, “Cannibal” and “I’m With Stupid”, etc Plus a new fan favorite track from “Project Regeneration” Vol 1. entitled “Terminator Oscillator”. Frontman Xer0 expressed his gratitude for the crowd’s support in selling out another show, remarking that it felt great to be back on stage in front of a sea of dedicated fans.

Hollywood costume genius Eddie Yang is the person responsible for creating the new robotic Static-X mask that looked so damn cool in person! It was as if Xer0 had transformed into a science fiction character from the brilliant mind of James Cameron, ready to kill the enemy. With electrical wires for hair and red laser light beams for eyes, it was as if Xer0 was personally selected to lead the evil Machine Empire Baranoia from Chouriki Sentai Ohranger, to takeover the whole universe! During the track “Love Dump” Xer0 noticed an enraged concert goer starting fights and had security eject the mustached trouble maker before anyone could get seriously hurt. Luckily, the show continued without delay, as Static-X kept rocking faces off!

A major highlight from the fist-pumping Orlando, Florida set, became Static-X performing their “Queen of the Damned” soundtrack hit “Cold”. Because during “Cold”, confetti snow poured onto the audience, while they all smiled from ear to ear. The audience singing a long to “Cold” so loud, the next city over could quite possibly hear them! As a memorial reel in dedication to Wayne Static streamed across the stage screens with fans cheering even louder! Above all, Static-X successfully brought forth an epic night of “Evil Disco” that will forever go down in the heavy metal history books as one of the best tribute tours to ever hit the United States, thanks to Ken Jay, Tony Campos, Koichi Fukuda, and XerO’s consistent headbanging dedication!

RIP Wayne Richard Wells