Industrial metal band Static-X has released “Stay Alive,” a new single from their long-anticipated upcoming album Project Regeneration Vol. 2. This would mark their second single off the album, following their cover of “Terrible Lie” by Nine Inch Nails released earlier this year. Their new single, along with the entire album, features the late Wayne Static’s vocals and never-before-seen footage of Static.
“Stay Alive” focuses on Static’s personal struggles with drug addiction. In the music video, footage of Static on stage is spliced with clips of detached hands cutting lines of cocaine and Static himself engaging in substance abuse. The reception of this video is likely to be mixed, but co-directors Tony Campos, Edsel Dope, and Matt Zane explain their vision for the video: “As dark as this piece of art may be,” Campos says, “it is also a very honest representation of where Wayne was at during this controversial time.” Wayne’s relatives also hope that the music video will serve as a wake-up call about the reality of drug abuse. His sister, Aimee Pittman, states, “It makes his family sad and angry to see Wayne depicting himself in a way that we understand to be a realistic portrayal of his life and the choices that ultimately ended it. If one person watching this video can benefit or make better choices related to drugs and alcohol, then we are grateful for the reminder.” Despite the lyrical and visual contents of this newly released song and video, Pittman hopes family, friends, and fans will always remember Static as an “intelligent, funny, Star Trek loving, rock star.”
Project Regeneration Vol. 2 is set to release on November 3rd, with long-time engineer Ulrich Wild, producer Edsel Dope, the band’s original lineup, and current vocalist Xer0 all continuing Wayne Static’s work on the album.
