Unsung Legend: Wayne Static

Many of those who are considered to be legends in the metal scene immediately come to mind, Ozzy, Bruce Dickinson, James Hetfield, and Corey Taylor are all known to the mainstream and constantly talked about on most metal sites. However there are some who manage to achieve this legendary status without ever truly being recognized for their greatness. One of these unheralded figures is Wayne Static. While Wayne Static attained high levels of success with his band Static-X, he has never gotten the notoriety of some of his peers. It's easy to look at Static's silly haircut and odd vocal approach in the era of nu-metal and dismiss his work as a product of it's time, but if you give his discography a deeper dive you'll find that a majority of his work was innovative and holds up to this day.

Right from the opening track of Static's debut record Wisconsin Death Trip, we got a taste of the uniqueness of Static-X. Despite being largely lumped in with the nu-metal scene, Static-X actually relies much more on industrial and groove metal than nu-metal. Something Static doesn't get nearly enough credit for is what they hoped to achieve with their music. Wayne Static has gone on record saying he thinks of his music as e"evil disco" and that the main purpose of it was to make people move and dance. Static-X is also a much more diverse band than they are often given credit for. The band has penned several doom-laden tracks as well as thrashy and shredding guitar driven songs on their late records. There are far more layers to Static's creativity than most give him credit for.

Wayne was a captivating frontman with his own signature mannerisms and unique playing style. Static-X's later work would truly shock most listeners as theirs far more focus on technicality than one would ever expect out of this band. Outside of the music, Static had his struggles with substances but was never known to be a troublesome person to others. He always possessed an unparalleled and original creative knack. Whether you particularly enjoyed his music or not, he brought something different to the table in the era of every band copying the same generic nu-metal formula. He was able to sell millions of records doing what he envisioned for himself and not worrying about what others think of him. For this Wayne Static deserves to be though of as one of the legends of the metal scene. Sadly it took his death in 2014 for some people to begin to realize this.