On Tuesday, March 28th, Static-X made a stop in Pittsburgh on their Rise of the Machine tour. They played at the Roxian Theatre with four other bands; Cultus Black, Twiztid, Dope, and Fear Factory. All five bands put on one heck of a show.

The first band that played was Cultus Black. Some songs they played were “Witch Hunt”, “You Make Me Sick”, “Nevermine”, and a cover of Nirvana’s “Negative Creep”. They were so incredible and I was only two rows back. Also, I met all of the band members apart from the vocalist. The second band that played the night was Twiztid. They’re more of a rap duo with rock and metal thrown into a mix. This was the first time I was ever in a moshpit and it was hectic, but I had a great time. After the third set, I got to meet the guitarist for this band and he signed a skate deck for my friend. The third set was Dope. They’re the second biggest band of this lineup, with their vocalist Edsel Dope being the same as the headliner Static-X’s; he replaced former vocalist Wayne Static following his tragic death in 2014. They had such a wild set and performed a load of hits, and they even included a cover of Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” in their setlist. The fourth band to play was Fear Factory. Definitely the heaviest band of the five; there was a massive moshpit. I never really listened to much of their music, but their set made me like them so much more. They have a newer vocalist and he’s great and really got the crowd going. My friend was fortunate enough to get a CD signed by the band. And the fifth and final band to perform was Static-X, the headlining band. They performed a total of 19 songs and nailed every single one. Most of the Static-X albums were recorded with their previous vocalist Wayne Static. Unfortunately, in 2014, he passed away of an overdose. A new vocalist joined the group in 2018 by the name of Xer0. Everyone knows by know that it’s actually Edsel Dope, Dope’s vocalist, but he still denies it. Regardless, Edsel or Xer0 (whatever you want to call it) does such a great job at playing Wayne’s part in the band. My favorite part of this whole concert was the tribute the band did for Wayne with their song “Cold”; I teared up a bit during it.

Overall, this concert was the best I ever went to. Being in the pit alone just feet away from the stage is truly a life changing experience. But seeing five bands in one night? Crazy. My feet were in aching pain by the time the show ended but it was all worth it. It’s definitely something I would want to relive again and I still feel so honored to have met multiple band members.