WDT is definitely overrated;
It is a solid, cohesive album, it has catchy rhythm parts, cool sound, even today it sounds fresh and still it is overrated.
I really like Static-X but it's not like they invented the wheel, the industrial scene was already stale the time WDT came out, bands that have to offer something new survive, otherwise you have bands like Korn selling out to make that big hit again and it's not about money, it's about people wanting to be in the spotlight again, Cannibal has some originality in it and that is pretty much why i am here talking

Please keep in mind that everything in this post is only my opinion and I speak for no one other than myself.

I'll say from the get go that I don't wish to offend anyone, Static X has always been a very favourite band of mine, and that I absolutely loved Cannibal.

I would never say that any one Static X album is objectively greater than another. I know subjectively, WDT to me is the greatest. I don't believe that it is impossible to create another album in this vein. WDT is not a classic just because "it's a classic". Of course I could never know, but I feel personally that simply the most time and energy was spent on the album. One of the reasons the album was so good is it had a much more industrial feel. A lot more bleak. The album placed rhythm first and foremost and focused more on the dance aspect and dance beats. These days I'd be hard pressed calling Static X "Evil Disco", because since Shadow Zone and following with Start a War and Cannibal, a lot of the dance aspects have been replaced with a bigger, a more full 'Rock' sound, and in the case of Cannibal a far more overtly 'metallic' sound. [of course there are exclusions such as Behemoth for example which is an amazing song, I'd like to reiterate that Cannibal is an amazing album and personally for me the bands best work since Machine, but is not without it's drawbacks]. I feel WDT spent more effort on the build up and crescendo endings. It had far less melody [melody as is found on Shadow Zone and to an extent Start a War].

Cannibal was, in sorts, a hint towards Wisconsin Death Trip. The production lost some of its 'BIG' values in place of a more raw, stripped back sound. Cannibal is a great album and showed me that Static X was not completely tired of ideas. But Cannibal is missing something. It sounds somewhat less energetic perhaps [I'm have songs like Chroma-Matic and Forty Ways in mind when I say this. The songs have very cool ideas, but seem to just miss the mark]. Rudimentary maybe. [Please keep in mind I think it is one of the greater albums.]

I believe it is possible for Static X to revisit the WDT days without simply 'following the same trodden path'. WDT I think is the most unique album in the discography, and has some of the least explored elements of the band. I think that Static X could essentially put out 'another WDT' successfully, without being bland and unoriginal. Cannibal was a HUGE step in the right direction, as somewhat a departure from the rock elements of Shadow Zone and Start a War. Not including an 'Otsego' track was good as well. There is nothing worse than becoming a band that relies on gimmicks [not that Static ever have, yet.]

I'm not asking Static to produce album after album of WDT material. But as of yet, I feel that the album is unparalleled in a comparative look at the discography.

I'd be happy with one re-visitation of the era. The time is ripe. It's been ten years since the release. If Static were to release just one album that matched WDT in it's energy, industrial-ness and bleak-ness, I'd feel completely happy to let Static X and Wayne go into any experimental tangent that the band/he felt.

I feel that amongst so much text, I have still somewhat failed to truly nail and project my point. But this is only my opinion and I hope people can embrace it, whether they agree or not.

Thanks,
Static X, keep up the good job! Keep releasing albums!

PS. Fans of Static X, there are 4 people in the band, don't forget to support them all equally! Check out the side project of Tony Campos, ASESINO!

The reason a band's first cd is usually their most classic is because they have the most time to write it.

Some bands are together 4-5 years before their first record comes out, so they have all that time to write songs. They might write 100 songs, and stick with the best 12 that they have.

When it comes time to put out that second cd though they have time constraints to writing. It's usually the first time they have to write something for a deadline, and they only get to write maybe 15-20 songs and they have to narrow that down to 12 (or so) and they don't get as much time to rearrange and make changes like they did before they were a signed band.

Simply, Static-X (like every other band) just had a lot more time to make the WDT songs better, and I'm sure that's what Wayne and co. did (it's especially apparent if you listen to their 1997 demo).

I think Machine is right up there with WDT in terms of being "classic", but some of those songs were probably written before WDT came out.