Static-X Sold Out Fillmore Underground

But far from “selling out” for Rise of the Machine 2023 Tour

Touring bands are still catching up from the live performance pause that started in early 2020 when the Covid-19 Pandemic started wreaking havoc across the world. When we all thought normalcy was appearing to make itself known and bands began booking tour dates, particularly in 2022, as was the case with Static-X’s Rise of the Machine Tour, new variants of the virus caused bands to have to cancel and reschedule. Although Static-X was on tour with Rob Zombie for the Freaks on Parade Tour later in the summer of 2022, their own anniversary tour which was supposed to have hit Charlotte in March 2022 was postponed until March 2023.

On March 16, 2023, the Rise of the Machine Tour finally arrived in Charlotte, NC at the Fillmore Underground. With five bands performing during the evening, doors were set to open at 5 pm and the first set was to begin at 6 pm. Although doors did not open until around 5:40 pm, the first band, Society 1 started their set on time. Matt Zane, the lead singer, did not hold back the energy level as he and the band performed as the Underground was filling in. It wasn’t uncommon to see the singer jumping around on the tight stage while slamming out the lyrics to their setlist.

Moments later, Dope took the stage. The founding frontman, Edsel Dope was joined on stage by past and current members Virus (lead guitar), Acey Slade (bass), and Daniel Fox (drums). Although the show start time was pretty early for a weeknight, the Underground was pretty much at capacity by the time the band took the stage around 6:45 pm. As expected, the band also put on a high-intensity metal performance with Acey Slade jumping off his high rise many times during their set and Edsel Dope playing on the familiar-looking Flying V electric guitar. 

Before the set ended with the cover of “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”, Edsel commented that he made friends with former and deceased lead singer Wayne Static (of Static-X) a long time ago, and if it weren’t for that, we wouldn’t be here right now (meaning touring for Rise of the Machine). While many fans know what that meant, the comment very well could have gone right over some folk’s heads. On February 24, 2023, a free digital download of “Blood Money Part ZerO” was made available,.

While fans eagerly waited for Static-X for later in the evening, there was a whole other set of fans eagerly waiting for Mushroomhead to take the stage. And then it happened, the band fully masked up, took over the small and cramped stage. With multiple drum and percussion setups, the band members seemed to jockey for spots to rock out to an intense and energized crowd. 

This is the first set during the evening where crowd surfers start to surface across the tops of the crowd and make their way towards the front and across the barricade, where members of security were graciously waiting to help them safely exit stage left back into the sold-out crowd. With two vocalists sharing the tight stage, it was common for one of them to drop down to the floor level between the barricade and the stage to perform right in front of the fans. 

Later, in the set, he decided to go crowd surfing as the rest of the band put the pedal to the metal. If you have never seen Mushroomhead perform, the percussionist uses water drums closer to the stage, so with every fast-hitting bang on the drum, water expels in all directions. As with other bands that hide their identities while on stage, the performance was really an awesome and great visual experience.

The last band on the bill to take the stage before Static-X was Fear Factory. Like many other bands that have been around for multiple decades, there have been quite a few line-up changes over the years. The most recent change for Fear Factory is the addition of the new lead singer, Milo Silvestro, who hails from Italy, as the prior and original singer left the band in 2020. 

The last original band member, Dino Cazares, was there at the Underground on guitar and Tony Campos was on bass (also on bass for Static-X). 

Before the set started, Pete Webber, filling in for the drums notices there was a slight technical issue with the drum sound, but the issue was resolved fairly quickly and the set began although this caused the setlist to get cut short one song. After a highly energetic and prove thyself to me performance, the new lead singer yelled, “We are Fear Factory and we are fucking back”, before exiting the stage.

What we all have been waiting over a year for was finally upon us. The crowd had been through four amazing and energetic performances so far in the evening and it wasn’t even 9:30 pm yet. As songs over the sound system started and ended on repeat, the crowd started to get quiet in anticipation of Static-X taking the stage once a pre-recorded song ended, only to be fooled once more by another song beginning again. Oh the anticipation, it kills us sometimes! I guess Fear Factory could have actually played that last song, huh? Abruptly the lights are killed and the stage with video screens in the background is lit up with messages. Out of nowhere, a robotic machinery character from the video “Push It” appears on stage with a flashlight pointing into the crowd. If anyone recognized the character, I’m sure it brought back a sense of nostalgia. 

As Tony Campos (bass), Koichi Fukuda (lead guitar), and Ken Jay (drums) took the stage the crowd was going wild. When Zer0 took the stage, you could sense the crowd was in awe, as Zer0 sported a new visually appealing mask and his body was covered from head to toe along with robotic coverings for his hands. Interestingly, Zer0 also plays a Flying V guitar similar to other musicians on the tour. 

To pay respect to Wayne Static, the band has attempted to mask Zer0s identity, although, fans are well aware of who might be the masked frontman. The meet and greets with the band also exclude Zer0, which also enforces the band’s respect for Wayne and not to place emphasis on the new singer as a replacement. 

During the full set, Static-X as a whole carried on the sound and the vision of Wayne Static. The fans know it isn’t the same without Wayne, but knowing that the music lives on and can be performed live, is all that one could wish for. That is exactly what fans got at the Underground on a Thursday night. Fans were crowd surfing and getting into the flow of the set as the band roared through songs from Machine, Wisconsin Death Trip, Cannibal, and other albums. Towards the end of the set, Zer0 made mention of Wayne Static and played tribute to him during “Cold” as the video screen in the background displayed images of the deceased frontman and fake snow blew out onto the stage and fans closer to the stage. 

All in all, the Rise of the Machine Tour was a huge success. Venues are being sold out everywhere the tour is making stops. So my advice to you is to make sure you get to one of these shows. It definitely won’t disappoint and with so many bands on the bill, there will definitely be something for everyone who enjoys the heavy metal, industrial metal, and Nu metal genres.

Click Here For The Full Gallery of The Evening!

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