Nearly danceable
industrial thrash unit
Static X return to the heavy-hitting attack of their
Wisconsin Death Trip debut on
Cannibal, their fifth offering. Like
"Jesus Built My Hotrod"-era
Ministry without the snarky humor,
Cannibal finds the Midwest-bred quartet mining the usual themes of death, drink, sex and hate, but this time around the sparse arrangements, throat-shredding vocals and occasional flourishes of
disco-jet fuel feel less contrived than on previous outings. Sure, there's nothing here that any fan of
White Zombie,
Korn and
Slipknot hasn't already ingested a hundred times, but tracks like
"Goat," "Destroyer," the sinewy title cut, and
"No Submission" -- the latter appeared on the
Saw 3 soundtrack -- bristle with a refreshing sense of "fuck it" that keeps things from spiraling into the self-absorbed tar pit that makes dinosaur bones out of so many similar acts. [
Cannibal is also available in a "clean" version that spares the listener the emotional trauma of dealing with words such as "bullshit" and "crap."] ~ James Christopher Monger
