Loudside.com got the inimitable Wayne Static on the phone during the band's stint on this years Ozzfest to discuss the world of Static-X with the Static mainman himself. Here's what Wayne had to say about the band's new album 'Cannibal', being a part of this year's Free Ozzfest, and what the band has going on for the rest of this year........

Loudside.com: So what's going on man, how you guys doing?

Wayne: Good man! You know, just getting started for the day, talking about myself all day, and then getting ready to play a little rock show, ya know. (laughs)

Loudside.com: (laughing) Same thing everyday huh?

Wayne: Pretty much everyday. Wake up, talk about myself for a couple hours, and then go rock out, ya know.

Loudside.com: Ok, now you guys are Ozzfest Alumni, having been on the tour back in 1999 and 2000, and now you're back on it in 2007. After such a long stretch, and the face of metal having changed rather significantly since then, how does it feel to be back on Ozzfest?

Wayne: Oh it's awesome man. We're really happy to be back and having a great time and uh......('Hey, Shut up! I'm trying to talk on the phone!')....Umm, for us man, it's awesome. Best Ozzfest for us ever man. It's crowded everyday, it's just been fuckin crazy man.

Loudside.com: Right on. On a similar note, how do you feel about the whole tour being free?

Wayne: Well it's definitely working. I know everyone was skeptical when Sharon first announced it, but it's definitely working. I mean, I'm here everyday on the stage at seven o'clock  looking out at tens of thousands of people, so any bullshit you read on Blabbermouth or anything saying 'Oh half the people aren't showing up' and all that.....Fuck all that dude. I'm here and I'm looking out, and it's packed everday!

Loudside.com: Cool. Now with the bands relying mostly on merch sales to survive, and one band already having dropped off, is this going to become a potential problem for you guys?

Wayne: No, I mean, before we committed to the tour, we made sure that we had all the funding in place to be able to do this, and not lose our asses. We got the label to kick in some money, and we went out and got some sponsors on our own, and then the rest of it we're funding with merch sales. But we're not gonna lose money, we're not making anything either. But um, everything's in place, ya know.

Loudside.com: Ok. Now you guys have been on a major label for all five of your releases, and you've managed to have continuous success with each consecutive release, regardless of any trends in music. Do you feel that it's a testament to the staying power of Metal, or do attribute that to a loyal fanbase and solid songwriting?

Wayne: Umm, ya know, it's some of both, really. You know obviously there's always gonna be kids that hate their parents and whatnot, so there's always gonna be Heavy Metal and Punk Rock and all that in some shape or form. And I mostly attribute it to hard work. It's like, you know, we don't take vacations. We go from touring straight back to writing to make a new record to go on tour again, ya know. I think that's the key to success in this business for sure. You just gotta keep working hard, and the more success you get, the harder you have to work to stay on top.

Loudside.com: Yeah, for sure. Now in regards to the new album, I noticed that there's alot of lead guitar work, pretty much within each track. Was there any specific reason for incorporating leads into the mix?

Wayne: Ya know, I've wanted to do it for a long time. I'm a fan of great guitar solo's, and I think that they can add a whole new dimension or a whole new hook to a song. And really the only reason we haven't done it in the past, is that we didn't have a guitar player that could do it, ya know. On our first album, we consciously kind of cut all that out, because we were trying not to be metal, because metal was not cool back in 1998, ya know. (laughs) So we were like, 'Man, we gotta try not to be metal', ya know. When we started we all had long hair and shit, ya know, and it was like, 'We're gonna cut our hair'......But once we got past all that bullshit, now I feel like we're doing what we really want to do. And having Koichi back full time and committed to the band allows us to do that.

Loudside.com: Right on. Now something that I also noticed was missing from this album is a song with the word 'Otsego' in it. With that having become somewhat of a staple for Static-X, why did you decide to not have that show up on 'Cannibal'?

Wayne: It's very simple. I just got tired of it, ya know. I like to challenge myself, and I like to have a good time making music, and it got to a point where it was like, 'I'm tired of this bullshit', and I wanna do something else, ya know. (laughing) Like there's no reason we HAVE to do it, ya know. It was just fun to do. It's fun and challeging for four albums to try and come up with some new thing for it, and now I'm over it. (laughing)

Loudside.com: Ok (laughing). I'm assuming there have been plenty of comments from fans on your forums about that?

Wayne: Oh TONS of people ask about it. I'm surprised actually. I mean, who cares what the song is called, ya know. If the record's good, it could be called fuckin 'Shit', but if it's a great record who cares what it's called. (laughing)

Loudside.com: (laughing) Gotcha. So lyrically it seems like some of the songs could be in a political vein, while others come off being more environmentally conscious. Did politics, the war, or the state of the nation come into play lyrically?

Wayne: Not at all. Not at all. I try to keep and and all of my beliefs and all that stuff as separate as I can. And actually this album is the closest I've EVER come, with the song 'Cannibal'. But uh, I try to keep things more vague, and open to interpretation. I think that's alot more interesting in the long run. And I definitely don't wanna preach to anybody. We're not that kind of band, ya know. We're about having fun. I want people to come out to our shows and have a good time. I don't wanna preach to them and make them think about some serious bullshit, ya know.

Loudside.com: You're trying to take them away from all that for a while.

Wayne: Exactly.

Loudside.com: Now I recently found out about a new project you're working on called 'Pig Hammer', which was also referenced in the song 'Chemical Logic'. What's that all about, and who else is involved with it at this point?

Wayne: Right now, I don't have committments from anyone. I'm just sort of thinking about it as far as players, and who I want to play with on it. And right now it's just an idea, and I've wanted to do a side project for many years now. And I've just never taken the time to do it, because Static-X takes up so much of my time. But I'm gonna make time for it in the next couple of years. I absolutely want to make another Static record, as soon as we're done touring for this. And then after that, I'm gonna try to sort of delve into the Pig Hammer thing, and see what comes up. It's definitely gonna be extreme. Somewhat different than Static-X, but you'll know it's me. I'll be doing all the vocals, but it will be different.

Loudside.com: Sounds cool man. So you guys have done the video for 'Destroyer', which had a rather interesting Roller Ball theme to it. Assuming that there will be another one soon, are there any tracks that are being considered more than others? Or has that even been discussed yet?

Wayne: Umm, actually 'Cannibal' is the next single, and we just did a really cool Live video for it. We recorded a show in Spokane, Washington on the last headline tour we did, and it was a crazy off the hook show. So we just recorded that, and we put together a really cool live video for it, and it should be out any day.

Loudside.com: Ok, cool. Now also in regards to the video for 'Destroyer', the prologue is interesting, where it says something to the effect of 'There is only room for one at the top, and there is only ONE Static-X.' With that in mind, I wanted to ask, with some of the other industrial bands like Spineshank having broken up, and with the current incarnation of Fear Factory kind of coming out of left field, what is it that keeps Static-X on point?

Wayne: Again, I think it's hard work and the structure of this band, where everyone knows that I'm the leader and I'm the one that keeps everything focused. And I think for some bands, that's important, ya know. You gotta have one guy there sorta keeping everything in focus. Like, I'm the Paul Stanley of Static-X. And there's other bands where all the guys have equal input, and that works for them. But I think for most of them there needs to be one guy to keep everything focused.

Loudside.com: Well I mean you guys have been pretty consistent in terms of putting out a record that doesn't sound like it's NOT Static-X.....

Wayne: Well, ya know we HAVE tried to push into different areas on each record, but I'm conscious of what makes Static-X sound like Static-X. The number one thing is my guitar tone. And that's always consistent throughout the records. Another thing is the types of drum beats, ya know. Most of the time, it's really kind of a bouncier groovy beat that the chicks can dance to. And then, ya know, we always keep some of the electronic elements in there. There's all these things. And on top of that, I think my voice is very recognizable, so you put all those things together, and it's always gonna sound like Static-X.

Loudside.com: Right on. In regards to dvd's, I know you guys put out bonus dvd's with the special editions of the last two albums. But is there going to be an Official Live Static-X dvd anytime soon?

Wayne: Well, we're working on it for a release probably early next year. It will be a full length concert, live audio. We already recorded the concert and the audio at the same concert, in Spokane. You get a little sneak preview of it with the 'Cannibal' video that's coming out. But it will be a full show, like an hour and ten minutes, and then we're also thinking we might put all our music videos on it too as kind of added stuff. We're working on that, we don't have a real release date. We're just working on it right now.

Loudside.com: Ok. I know that being on Ozzfest, you guys have....well maybe not you personally because of all the interviews and stuff......but sometimes there's alot of downtime for the bands. Do you guys continuously write on tour?

Wayne: I don't write on the road anymore. I've decided after the first couple of years of doing that, that you know what, it sucks. Cause all of a sudden the tour's done, and all I did was sit in the back lounge writing music the whole time. So now, what I do when I'm on the road, is I party all the time. I try to meet all the other bands, and I just have a great time. For me, the touring is the reward for all the hard work that I do when I'm at home, making the record and writing songs. So, as soon as we get home from the tour, then I'll go back into writing mode. Reconfigure our studio for the rehearsal room, so we can demo everything, and then just slam it out. We'll spend three months in there, five days a week, eight or ten hours a day writing the record, and get it done like that. I like to have a great time on the road man. This is, ya know.....this is what it's all about.

Loudside.com: Cool. So you've pretty much met and hung out with all the smaller second stage bands then?

Wayne: Yeah.

Loudside.com: Ok, now what about former members of the band? Do you or any of the other guys have any contact with the former members of Static-X?

Wayne: No. Actually, both of the guys that were in the band before we don't talk to anymore. For various reasons.

Loudside.com: Ok. And what do you guys have going on for the rest of this year, and into the next, regarding tours and whatnot?

Wayne: Yeah, we start another headline tour in the U.S. in October. It will be Static-X, Shadows Fall, 3 Inches Of Blood, and Divine Heresy. And that will go for five weeks, and then we go straight over to Australia with Megadeth, Devildriver, and Lacuna Coil. And we're doing six shows over there with them. And then it looks like we're gonna come back after that, about the end of November, and start writing to try and get the next record out as soon as we can. The middle of next year is hopefully what we're shooting for........