Static-X's roots trace to the Midwest, where vocalist/guitarist
Wayne Static grew up in Michigan and drummer
Ken Jay in Illinois. They ended up in Chicago separately and met at the record store where
Jay worked, introduced to one another by
Smashing Pumpkins vocalist
Billy Corgan.
Static and
Jay decided to head west to California and start up a new band. Shortly after their arrival, Osaka native
Koichi Fukada responded to the duo's ad and became their new guitarist, as well as programmer. Bassist
Tony Campos, the only true Californian, was the final piece of the puzzle.
Static-X's music combined aggressive metal and thrash with
industrial overtones and
techno pulse. Signed to Warner Brothers in February 1998,
Static-X debuted with Wisconsin Death Trip a year later, and the album was eventually certified gold. Departing guitarist
Fukada was replaced with
Tripp Eisen (ex-
Dope) for 2001's Machine, and drummer
Jay left after the 2003 album Shadow Zone. If that weren't enough, personal issues forced
Eisen to leave the band in 2004. Still,
Static-X was undeterred.
Static tapped
Fukada to rejoin on guitar and programming, and touring drummer
Nick Oshiro took over full-time. In June 2005, a rejuvenated
Static-X returned to recording with Start a War. Cannibal arrived in 2007, followed by Cult of Static in 2009. ~ Josh Loehr, All Music Guide