The first Nu Metal tour of the year finally happened at the Van Buren in Phoenix, AZ. Tuesday night was no ordinary one with Statix-X, Fear Factory, Mushroomhead, Dope, and Society 1.
Growing up in the height of the nu metal era, I think I speak for anyone that relates to the music when I say that this tour was exactly what we all wanted. Besides some of the biggest names in the nu metal business, this line-up lived up to the hype and was on par with the “Ex Family Values Tour.” Korn used to put on. The setlist for Static X was mixed with old and newer songs, along with the amazing cover of “Terrible Lie” by NIN. Static X opened up with “Permanence,” off their second album “Machine,” which is one hell of a song where the music just takes control of you. They played a hand full of songs off the album “Machine,” which I always thought was a solid follow-up to their powerhouse debut album “Wisconsin Death Trip.” With this being the first time I’ve seen Static X since they brought in the new singer, I truly feel Wayne would be proud that his music and voice are continuing on in machine form. Xero’s voice is spot on, and not in a copycat Wayne way either. It’s authentic and true to what Wayne built Static X on. The band themselves are as tight as ever, and I’ve always had a ton of respect for Tony Campos, Koichi Fukuda, and Ken Jay on drums. The only hiccup during the set was during “Love Dump,” when the sample got off beat and they had to stop the entire song to reset it. Tony took to the crowd and acknowledged that “this shit happens” and that it shows the human side of touring. It was a memorable night at the sold-out Van Buren! The set list was perfect, the visuals were absolutely mind-blowing, and all the bands were on point. Also, a huge shout out to the entire staff at The Van Buren for keeping everyone safe!
Set list
