TEMPE — A roar went up from the crowd at the Marquee Theater on Tuesday evening as the house lights came down and LED screens flickered to life with the Static-X logo. Fans had gathered to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band’s seminal album, Wisconsin Death Trip, and pay tribute to late frontman Wayne Static, who passed away from a drug overdose in 2014.

The surviving members of the original Static-X lineup — bassist Tony Campos, guitarist Koichi Fukuda and drummer Ken Jay — have taken an unorthodox approach to that tribute, generating a fair amount of controversy long before the tour kicked off. Intent on recapturing the essence of their 1999 tour, the band enlisted an unidentified vocalist named Xer0 (rumored to be Edsel Dope), who appeared in promotional materials clad in a ghoulish, decaying Wayne Static mask, with hair spiked up into the late singer’s signature style.

While a certain segment of the Static-X fanbase may have been taken aback by this decision, the remaining band members sought the approval of Wayne’s family before commissioning the mask and moving forward with touring plans. It may be deemed by some as being in poor taste, but those closest to Wayne acknowledge that he always had a macabre sense of humor and would likely have found the whole charade hilarious.

As far as whether or not this unorthodox approach translates to an enjoyable live experience, the answer is a resounding “yes.” With the aid of teleprompter screens placed at floor level on either side of the mic stand, each displaying lyrics and musical cues that he never actually seemed to rely on, Xer0 did a commendable job recreating Wayne’s growls and snarls and evoking his energetic stage presence. Beloved tracks like “Bled for Days,” “I’m With Stupid” and “Push It” all sounded great, and for anyone not in the first few rows, it would have been easy to imagine that Wayne himself had been spirited from the past to say goodbye.

Check out the full gallery of Static-X photos from the Marquee Theater below, and click here for pictures of Devildriver’s performance at the same event. Tickets for remaining shows on the Wisconsin Death Trip 20th anniversary tour are available at Static-X.org

Photo Credit: Brent Hankins

Setlist

Bled for Days

Wisconsin Death Trip

Fix

Sweat of the Bud

Love Dump

I Am

Otsegolation

The Trance Is the Motion

Get to the Gone

Black and White

This Is Not

Destroy All

Start a War

Behemoth

Cold

I’m With Stupid

Push It

Remaining Static-X Tour Dates

June 19 – Albuquerque, N.M. @ El Rey Theater

June 21 – Dallas, Texas @ Gas Monkey Live

June 22 – Houston, Texas @ The Warehouse

June 23 – San Antonio, Texas @ The Aztec Theater

June 25 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Masquerade

June 26 – Greenville, S.C. @ The Firmament

June 28 – Baltimore, Md. @ Soundstage

June 29 – Sayreville, N.J. @ Starland Ballroom

June 30 – Scranton, Pa. @ Level

July 02 – Toronto, Ontario @ Opera House

July 03 – London, Ontario @ London Music Hall

July 04 – Ottawa, Ontario @ Brass Monkey

July 05 – Hampton Beach, N.H. @ Wally’s

July 06 – Worcester, Mass. @ The Palladium

July 07 – Reading, Pa. @ Reverb

July 09 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Jergel’s

July 10 – Cleveland, Ohio @ Agora Theater

July 11 – Indianapolis, Ind. @ The Citadel

July 12 – Ft Wayne, Ind. @ Piere’s

July 13 – Detroit, Mich. @ Harpo’s

July 14 – Lexington, Ky. @ Manchester Music Hall

July 16 – Grand Rapids, Mich. @ Intersection

July 18 – Cadott, Wis. @ Cadott Rockfest

July 19 – Sioux City, Iowa @ Anthem @ Hard Rock Casino

July 20 – Joliet, Ill. @ The Forge

July 21 – Belvidere, Ill. @ Apollo Theater

July 23 – Denver, Colo. @ Oriental Theater

July 26 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ Catch One

July 27 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ House Of Blues