It was a night of heavy metal monstrosity and mayhem Tuesday in Indy, when Static-X hit the Egyptian Room with GWAR, Dope and A Killer’s Confession.
AKC kicked it off early with a heavy metal-loaded set that featured frontman Waylon Reavis and keyboardist Stitch- formerly of Mushroomhead- along with Dope’s Daniel Fox on drums and saw the show open up in dominant fashion.
Reavis took to the barricade at one point to get up-close and personal with the crowd and the band even threw in Mushroomhead fan favorite “Qwerty” for extra measure. It was a devilish set that showed a band with the potential to be a heavy-hitter in the metal world over the next few years.
Dope was up next and hit the crowd with a quick seven-song set that included all the hits and showed the band operating at a level equal to what they were 25 years ago when they broke.
Singer Edsel Dope took a moment to talk to the fans, explaining that he’d just landed in Indy that afternoon after flying home to see his family and young daughter, which he takes every opportunity to do when out on tour. He also let them know that guitarist Acey Slade was at home tending to family issues, so the band was joined by Static-X guitarist Koichi Fukuda for the night.
The band hit the fans with almost every hit and sounded absolutely excellent, opening the door for the almighty GWAR to take over.
Which they did, opening their set by decapitating Elon Musk, spraying the crowd with blood and covering the venue in in it as well. Throughout the set, they killed President Donald Trump and strangled him with his own intestines, played catch with a baby, murdered Taylor Swift and even fought a dinosaur on stage, before ending with the legendary “Sick Of You.”
After a lengthy set change, the lights went down and Static-X took the stage to finish off what was left of the blood-covered crowd.
They started with singer Zer0 standing atop a giant platform singing above everyone, as if giving a sinister speech. After coming down the party really got started, with the band throwing in songs from almost every Static-X record over their 20+ year career.
The band sounded just as good in 2025 as they did in 1999, taking the band back in time to an era that really stood still and many wish would come back.
The stage was adorned with LED videoboards, a man in a suit and tie dancing around the stage at times with a giant Static-X logo for a head, bubbles and more throughout the set made for a hell of a production, and the band made sure to give a heartfelt tribute to founding singer Wayne Static during “Cold,” after which bassist Tony Campos introduced the band and reminisced about Static and how much fun Wayne would have had touring with GWAR.
The band wrapped up the night with their massive hit, “Push It,” during which they were joined on stage by members of GWAR, bringing an end to a night that was nothing short of a party.
-Reggie Edwards