Start a War

Start a War is the fourth studio album by American industrial metal band Static-X, released in June 2005. A special version was shipped with an additional DVD titled X-Rated. It is the last album for 15 years to feature Ulrich Wild as a producer and/or a mixer, until Project: Regeneration Vol. 1 in 2020.

Start a War
Studio album by Static-X
Released	June 14, 2005 (2005-06-14)
Studio	Glenwood Place Studios (Burbank, California)
Genre	Industrial metal nu metal[1] alternative metal[2]
Length	48:04
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Ulrich Wild Wayne Static Tom Whalley (exec.)
Static-X chronology
Beneath... Between... Beyond... (2004) Start a War (2005) Cannibal (2007)
Singles from Start a War
"I'm the One" Released: June 2005 "Dirthouse" Released: November 2005

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Blabbermouth.net	7/10[4]
PopMatters	6/10[5]
Ultimate Guitar	9.3/10[6]

Album information

This is the first studio album with drumming provided by Nick Oshiro, and the second and last album that guitarist Tripp Eisen wrote and performed on. The album marks the return of former guitarist Koichi Fukuda, who helped with the programming, and according to Static-X's online forums, Fukuda completed additional guitar parts in three songs left unfinished by Eisen. The album continues the change in sound found on Shadow Zone but many of the songs featured on Start a War are heavier and feature a lot more screaming and aggressive lyrics. The whole tone of the album is more aggressive than Shadow Zone.

The song "Pieces" features a guitar solo, a feature not found in earlier albums, but playing a larger role in the following album, Cannibal. When asked about the album, Wayne Static said "We wanted to try to recreate the fun spirit of Wisconsin Death Trip; having Koichi back, with his flavor, helped." The song "Start a War" was featured on the WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 video game soundtrack, and later on in Project Gotham Racing 3. "Skinnyman" was featured on Need for Speed: Most Wanted, though in a censored version. "I'm the One" was featured in Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball, both the original version and the "Wayne Static's Destroyer Remix".

The album debuted at #29 on the Billboard 200, selling 35,416 copies in its first week.^[7]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Enemy"	2:28
2.	"I'm the One"	2:36
3.	"Start a War"	2:44
4.	"Pieces"	2:38
5.	"Dirthouse"	3:03
6.	"Skinnyman"	3:40
7.	"Just in Case"	4:24
8.	"Set It Off"	3:55
9.	"I Want to Fucking Break It"	2:42
10.	"Night Terrors"	3:09
11.	"Otsego Amigo"	2:45
12.	"My Damnation"	4:01
13.	"Brainfog" (includes a cappella version of "Otsego Amigo" as hidden track, with a drum and bass finale)	9:53
Total length:		48:04

All tracks are written by Static-X

Japanese edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Get to the Gone" (Live)	3:03

DVD version (X-Rated)

Start a War was also available in a bonus edition digipak with a DVD titled X-Rated.

Band footage

Most of the DVD was filmed whilst guitarist Tripp Eisen was in the band. When he left the band, he had to be 'edited' out of the DVD, though he can still be seen in some shots. New live footage was filmed with Koichi Fukuda. Consequently, this means that most of the DVD has footage only of Static, Campos and Oshiro.

Contents of the DVD

• Making of the record. (Footage of the band making/recording the record and a footage of a photoshoot.)
• Rehearsal footage. (In order - "The Enemy", "Start a War", "I'm the One", "Dirthouse")
• Live tour footage. Each song also has footage of the band's crazy antics (in order - "Permanence", "The Trance Is the Motion", "Monster")
• "Desert Fun" - Wayne and Tony driving around the desert in trucks with the tracks "Otsego Amigo" and "I Want to Fucking Break It" being played.
• Instrumental songs ("Dirthouse", "Otsego Amigo", "Pieces", "Skinnyman", "Start a War")

Personnel

• Static-X
  • Wayne Static – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards
  • Tony Campos – bass, backing vocals
  • Tripp Eisen – lead guitar^{[lower-alpha 1]}
  • Nick Oshiro – drums
  • Koichi Fukuda – programming, lead guitar^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Technical personnel

• Wayne Static – production
• Tony Campos – production
• Ulrich Wild – production, engineering, mixing, programming
• Tom Whalley – production
• Daniel Wild – percussion
• Steven Gilmore – artwork
• Jason Freedman – sound effects
• P. R. Brown – photography
• Filmmakers – Troy Wallace, Matt Eidson, Richie Riot, Andy "Matahaji" Sandoval, John Toler
• Tom Baker - mastering

Notes

1. While Fukuda is credited with playing lead guitar, it was actually Eisen who played lead guitar on the album, but he was fired from the band before the album's release; thus, Eisen was uncredited.

Chart positions

Album Chart performance for Start a War Chart (2005) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] 52 Austrian Albums Chart[9] 55 French Albums Chart[10] 135 German Albums Chart[11] 88 US Billboard 200[12] 29

Singles Chart performance for singles from Start a War Song Chart (2005) Peak position "I'm the One" Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[13] 22 "Dirthouse" 27

References

1. "Static-X: Start a War Review".
2. Percy, Robert (July 10, 2020). "Review: Static X - Project Regeneration Vol. 1". DriveTribe.
3. "Start a War - Static-X". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
4. "CD Reviews". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
5. Schiller, Mike (June 12, 2005). "Static-X: Start a War, PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
6. UG Team (July 14, 2005). "Static-X: Start A War Review". Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
7. "Nielsen SoundScan Report for this year for the curious". Ultimate Metal - Heavy Metal Forum and Community. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
8. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 266.
9. "Austrian chart positions" (in German). austriancharts.at.
10. "French chart positions" (in French). lescharts.com.
11. "German chart positions" (in German). musicline.de.
12. "Start a War - Static-X". Billboard.
13. "Cannibal > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation.