"Cannibal" is their latest release, and it's probably the most decent of the recently released full-lengths. The album shows Static-X trying to incorporate the original sound they started with into the more recent styles. While some songs pull it off perfectly there are a few tracks, such as "Destroyer", that attempt to keep their more recent sound alive without alteration. Those few tracks stand out as the worst on the release and are quite possibly some of the most annoying ever written by the band.

Using some sampling that we haven't heard much of since the first album does help out in giving "Cannibal" the feel that they are returning to their roots. However, it could seriously do with some more work. Proof enough is the guitars that pale in comparison to previous guitar work on earlier efforts. There isn't as much singing on this release as there has been lately, but in this case it's a damn good thing.

So, if you mourn the loss of the early days of Static-X, remove the vale and start hoping. "Cannibal" is the closest thing to the original sound as could be right now. Hopefully future albums will continue to use the original aspects. With only a few songs on here that will make you want to snap the disc in half, the album is okay. There's a good deal of room for improvement on the release however, making this more of a "borrow from a friend" than "blow your own money" type of album.

written by Jason Thomas Weiss

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