Band:	Static-X
Album:	Cult Of Static
Style:	Alternative metal, Industrial metal, Nu metal
Release date:	March 17, 2009
Guest review by:	AndyMetalFreak

01. Lunatic [feat. Dave Mustaine]
02. Z28
03. Terminal
04. Hypure
05. Tera-Fied
06. Stingwray
07. You Am I
08. Isolaytore
09. Nocturnally
10. Skinned
11. Grind 2 Halt

Cult Of Static is the sixth release by Static-X, and the title is a reference to the die-hard fans who followed them throughout the years.

Although I never really considered any of their albums to be really that great, I also never thought they released anything I would necessarily call bad either. The same goes for this album really; it's got some pretty bland moments throughout, but nothing I necessarily felt was bad. Obviously it's got nothing on the first three of their releases, but I have definitely heard worse by other nu/alternative metal acts, even when those bands were in their prime.

With no real surprise, the trademark sound still remained, from the industrial beats, to the heavy sluggish riffing, to the thick groovy bass lines, and the song structures did still work to a degree, even if they had become more predictable and repetitive by this point. One thing I can say about Static-X is that, compared with most nu metal bands, they at least remained fairly consistent, unlike Korn, for instance, who did try several new approaches that unfortunately led to some disastrous albums.

This album certainly didn't have all that much going for it, especially when compared to the first three of their releases, and some would even argue that this was their worst release, understandably. Still, I believe there was not much separating the albums since Shadow Zone, and I found there were still positives to be found here compared with each of Static-X's releases previous to this. Firstly, I must admit the lead guitar solos on here at times were exceptional! Also, as expected, there were several tracks that stood out amongst a rather average tracklist, "Terminal" and "Grind 2 Halt" being the main highlights for me.

When looking back through Static-X's discography as a whole, I can't say I really notice much change or evolution in their music style, or sound for that matter; instead I found their signature style start to become rather bland and more uninspiring as each album was released. The production, however, had always remained clean. I also never found their songwriting to be all that impressive on previous albums either, especially since their third release Shadow Zone (their best release in my honest opinion), and with no real surprise I didn't find the songwriting particularly inspiring on this album either. I always found the riffs to be way too generic and very uninspiring from this band too, with this album again being no exception; the riffs were even more chuggish, tedious and predictable than ever before on this album. The other thing I always had a hard time getting into was the hardcore vocal style; not that I had anything against his actual vocal performances, it's just not a style that I'm entirely fond of. The vocals on this occasion really didn't do it for me at all, it was an average performance at best in my opinion.

To sum it up, this album ain't all that bad, but don't expect too much out of it. I myself believe this to be one of their weaker efforts, but then again I've never been too much of a fan of the nu metal scene in general, even though I'm open minded when it comes to all metal genres.