Good music is like a car and a service now and again will keep things running nicely. That’s what’s happened with Static-X’s debut album Wisconsin Death Trip which gets an overhaul in celebration of it’s 25th anniversary. While it’s undeniably true that you shouldn’t tamper with perfection, a remaster and the addition of some choice bonus tracks will keep Wisconsin Death Trip purring like a kitten and ensuring that it’ll still sound fresh and exciting 25 years hence.

Recorded on a budget of $50,000 and completed in just eight weeks, when Wisconsin Death Trip dropped in March, 1999 it felt as if this album was manna from heaven. Sometimes in rock music the stars seem to align and create their own alchemy, and that was certainly the case with Static-X’s debut. Ushering in a new age of industrial metal, to call it a game changer would be something of an understatement. Opening with two of the album’s three singles (‘Push It’, ‘I’m With Stupid’) made for the perfect one-two punch, but in truth, this album had strength in depth and each of the twelve tracks was a heavy hitter and never slackened pace over it’s 45-minute running time. Thankfully, the remaster hasn’t detracted from the album’s power, quite the opposite; the screws have been tightened and the album’s metallic sheen has been polished so that the guitars on tracks such as ‘Fix’ cut the air like steely knives. on this album the band made their own triggering system for the drums which resulted in slight imperfections in the timing, which gave the whole album a discombobulated feel, like a machine about to implode. Thankfully, this hasn’t been altered, so Wisconsin Death Trip sounds as threatening as it always did and omits a sense of danger, as if it will explode at any moment.

Bolstered by ten bonus tracks, ‘Down’ (previously available on the Japanese edition) is a definite highlight and now gets the international release it so thoroughly deserves. Demo, unedited and radio edits are included, a treasure trove of choice cuts, making this the perfect collection for both the hardcore and casual fan alike.

• Wisconsin Death Trip is released on 12th December 2025.

Track List:

1. Push It
2. I’m With Stupid
3. Bled For Days
4. Love Dump
5. I Am
6. Otsegolation
7. Stem
8. Sweat Of The Bud
9. Fix
10. Wisconsin Death Trip
11. The Trance Is The Motion
12. December
13. Down
14. Head
15. Head Titan AE
16. S.O.M.
17. So Real
18. I Am
19. Wisconsin Death Trip (Unedited)
20. Love Dump (Demo)
21. I’m With Stupid (Radio Edit)
22. December (Unedited)