Music Review For The Weekend

Static-X Cannibal

Track Listing:

1. Cannibal
2. No Submission
3. Behemoth
4. Chemical Logic
5. Destroyer
6. Forty Ways
7. Chroma-Matic
8. Cuts You Up
9. Reptile
10. Electric Pulse
11. Goat
12. Team Hate

It's curious what Static-X were thinking when they released their fifth full length. On this year's "Cannibal," the Los Angeles-based quartet's sound is basically the same as it has always been, only this time, they opt for much more stripped down, simple, bare-bones, and almost punk-like approach than their previous efforts. Ultimately, though, this approach mostly failed, because it is too simple and familiar-sounding for its own good.

Lyrically, this is about as repetitive and uninspired you'll find, and quite frankly, a lot of these lyrics are flat out moronic! Elsewhere, the drums are so basic that they're not worth commenting on, and most of the guitar work is pretty infantile, too. No, Static-X have never been anywhere close to being technical (can you name any "nu-metal" band that is?) but this is simple even for them. A lot of these "riffs" consist of just one or two notes or power chords repeated over and over again for the duration of the song. And what's worse is that they're not even semi-aggressive, chunky, fast, or heavy most of the time! The album's only sonic bite comes from Wayne's abnormally sharp, high-pitched, and in-your-face screams, and even their novelty wears off after only two or three tracks.

To be fair, every song on "Cannibal" is nice and listenable, and there are a few decent or good songs here, even if none of them are actual highlights that stay with the listener for more than a few minutes after hearing them. "Behemoth" sounds like vintage Static-X (circa the "Wisconsin Death Trip" era), whereas the next track, "Chemical Logic," is a thrasher with speedy guitar leads and a noisy, shredding solo. Also of note, "Destroyer" sports a fairly fat bass riff in its chorus; "Forty Ways" is a very hooky toe-tapper which has the potential to be a dance floor hit really soon; and "Goat" is a trippy, synth-driven number. For the most part, though, the songs just ain't there. Several of them (see "No Submission," "Chroma-Matic," "Electric Pulse," and "Goat") would be totally unremarkable if not for loud, moderately cool solos. And then there's "Cannibal" and Reptile," two extremely boring and vapid tracks that practically have "filler"and "waste of time" written all over them.

Am I being too harsh? Maybe. If you listen to "Cannibal" with an open mind without thinking too hard on it, and realize that the band meant it all to be in good fun, you could get quite a bit of enjoyment out of this disc. Even still, it's too hard to escape the feeling of coasting -- Static-X were clearly on complete autopilot when they made this record, and it sounds like they could have recorded it all on the spot in the studio in less than a day. So, in the end, "Cannibal" may be a fun, catchy listen, but it the lacks punch, innovation, urgency, "meat," depth, and good songwriting needed to be at all memorable, satisfying, or powerful. All in all, a highly skippable release for everybody except for the band's absolute most diehard fans.