Grand Rapids showed up for their stop on the Rise Of The Machine Tour! Cultus Black, Dope, Fear Factory, and with Xero replacing the late Wayne Static as frontman, Static-X played to a sold out main room at The Intersection. A standing room show on a Tuesday night that many are regretting they missed.
Kicking the night off was Cultus Black. A music project that describes themselves as a cult rather than just saying they are in a band. Cultist Black started by ripping through their set as an already packed room filled even more. Their bass-heavy sound was matched by their intense, cult-like presence.
Dope brought the energy the band is known for on tour. With an industrial metal sound that has filled our veins like a drug for over 25 years the band is aptly named. The set was filled with classics from various albums. The explosive “Die Mother Fucker Die” made the pit erupt. Before closing the set down with “Burn” Edsel Dope took time to acknowledge how long the band has been together, touring, and the fandom that keeps them going.
It has been a tumultuous few years for Fear Factory, fans were obviously happy for the band’s return with new front man Milo Silvestro. With Dino Cazares on guitar as the only original member left, Fear Factory had over three decades worth of music to throw at us. The set started with “Shock” and “Edgecrusher”. Heavy riffs, drums, and vocals brought back the glory days of early 2000’s metal. They closed their set out with a throat toasting sing-a-long to “Replica”.
When Static-X finally took the stage they tore into “Permanence”. Wayne Static was never far from thought, keeping with the spirit of reuniting the band, video panels displayed Wayne’s face throughout the set. For those that dont know the music world was saddened with the passing of Wayne in 2014. Being from West Michigan he has always held a special place in our hearts. In 2019 when Static-X reammerged with the mysterios character only know as Xer0 that donned the likeness of Wayne and took the stage filling in for our fallen hero. Sometime later and after much speculation it was revealed the Xer0 was none other than fellow rocker and friend, Edsel Dope. Leaving behind the zombie-like make in the likeness of Wayne, Xer0 hit the stage with a new Cyborg-Wayne-esqu mask. The high energy continued with favorites like “Structural Defeat”, “Black and white”, and “Love Dump”. The band didn’t slow when it came to the encore. “Cold“ was played during a blizzard of faux snow filling the venue. Before closing out the show Xer0 took time to thank Static’s founding members and Wayne’s family that was in attendance for allowing and encouraging the legacy of Wayne’s music to continue. Finishing out the set with their biggest radio hit “Push It”. The crowd favorite was an explosive example of why the metal community continues to thrive in Grand Rapids.
It is no surprise that almost the entire Rise Of The Machine Tour is sold out. This is certainly going to be one of those shows people talk about for years.
Written by Mallory Heldt
Photos by Brian Benn
