Band:	Static-X
Album:	Cannibal
Style:	Industrial metal, Nu metal
Release date:	April 2007

01. Cannibal
02. No Submission
03. Behemoth
04. Chemical Logic
05. Destroyer
06. Forty Ways
07. Chroma-matic
08. Cuts You Up
09. Reptile
10. Electric Pulse
11. Goat
12. Team Hate

Sometimes a change is as good as a break and here Static-X put that adage to the test with Cannibal, creating their 6th full length record in just under 10 years. Featuring an element of experimentation and switching up their approach, the band create an album that tries to give fans something different yet ultimately feels so familiar.

Perhaps recognising that they were running on a treadmill, Static-X decide to get off the treadmill and rethink their approach. Out went their record label and dalliances with a more radio friendly side to their formula, and in their place they found a new home for a new sound that emphasized the heavier face of the band. Hell, they even ditched the ongoing "Otesgo" saga they were that committed to starting anew.

One of the more unique albums in the Static-X canon, Cannibal would see a change in direction from the group; to push each song as far as they needed to go regardless of the album's cohesion. On Cannibal the band take the opposite route and push these elements to their limits. While this could have led to a cacophony of noise, the band are talented enough to weave what could have been discordant ideas into some great industrial groove metal. Although this seems like a huge leap in sound, it is taken in a subtle form; if you were to compare say "Push It" to "Behemoth", they are not a million miles away from each other, but you can hear the separation of elements in the latter, whereas they are closely intwined on the former. Is one better or worse than the other? It's down to your own personal taste, but for me both work just as well as each other when you look at the results.

So does that mean Cannibal is a great album? Well it certainly is a fresh take for the band and blows away some cobwebs, but it ultimately falls into the same pitfalls as the band's prior output, namely being that they are unable to craft a whole album of strong songs, and instead serve up 4-5 great songs and a batch of ok to terrible songs. Cannibal is no different, with tracks like "Cuts You Up", "Behemoth", "No Submission" and "Chemical Submission" being strong tracks that would make for a killer EP, but on this full length they can't shine as brightly through the crowd of other tracks. Songs like "Cannibal", "Chroma-Matic" and "Destroyer" are not bad, but seem like a median point between the highs and lows this album contains.

While these middling tracks aren't terrible, they just don't contain the strongest ideas from the band; it isn't for a lack of conviction or application, it is just a case that they're unable to breathe life into a song that needs that extra something. "Chroma-Matic" isn't devoid of ideas and in fact contains elements that could have worked if utilized differently, but taken as they're presented here, you will find yourself enjoying the song but not rushing to hear it again anytime soon.

The inclusion of guitar solos is a welcome addition for many of the songs, adding an extra flavour the band had yet to include in their work to this point to such a degree. While they won't make you sit up and rewind the song so that you can appreciate what was just played, it feels like a breath of fresh air and an element of sea change for Static-X.

The album does have some faults as it tries to change track and apply a new approach to the band's formula; it is that when the band aren't trying to push the aggressive element of a song they sound somewhat listless and directionless. Take the break in "Goat"; while it isn't bad, it feels underutilized and is dead space until they kick back in with the chorus. Whereas before, when the band weren't focusing on pushing the envelope, I would have expected them to better use that space, here it feels like the band don't know what to do with and as a result it just plays itself out. It isn't the only time this happens during the album, but it is the most obvious.

"Reptile" has got to be the worst song I've heard from the band, sounding like a half-baked idea poorly executed in a rush to get it finished. While in concept it embraces some kind of alt rock-cum-funk in place of the band's industrial tinge, it just sounds like something Primus would piss about with for a joke before moving onto something serious. I don't begrudge the band wanting to shake things up once in a while, but give us something better than "Reptile".

While I can't fault Static-X for poor execution or say that altering their style was a bad idea, Cannibal ultimately is the sound of a band reorganising the furniture rather than making the necessary measures, ending up at the same destination that they had before despite consciously taking a different path. Cannibal is a good album but one that blends in with the rest of the Static-X discography, it has its moments but not a solid run.