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** Static-X

MACHINE

(Warner Bros.)

On Static-X’s hit debut, Wisconsin Death Tripý(Warner Bros.), big-haired frontman Wayne Static sounded a lot like the long-lost little brother in the Rob Zombie/Powerman 5000 industrial-metal family. He hasn’t changed his tune much on the band’s monochromatic follow-up, which was recorded before they replaced departed guitarist Koichi Fukuda with former Dope man Tripp Eisen. Since Fukuda was also the group’s electronics guru, the new disc has less of a synthetic feel than the first one. The industrial beats on the opening “Get to the Gone” feel redundant next to Static’s hacksaw riffing, not that they subtract anything from the song’s near-death rage. Static’s scary-guy howl is even funnier than Zombie’s on the single “This Is Not,” and much more fun than the play-goth penchant for melodrama he displays elsewhere. The band like their rhythms a little heavier than most new-metallers, and their speed chops are far beyond those of the rst wave of post-NIN industrial pretenders. But the hooks are few and far between on this disc, and too often their belligerence doesn’t go anywhere. The hair makes the band, of course — but a couple of more interesting songs wouldn’t hurt either.

Sean Richardson