New Static-X frontman identified as Edsel Dope
The identity of STATIC-X’s touring vocalist has finally been confirmed — thanks to a tattoo

Ever since STATIC-X‘s comeback was first announced last year, there were strong rumors that DOPE frontman Edsel Dope was singing for STATIC-X under the name Xer0 while wearing a mask in the likeness of late frontman Wayne Static and performing alongside original bassist Tony Campos, drummer Ken Jay and guitarist Koichi Fukuda.

Up until now, STATIC-X has consistently brushed off speculation about Xer0’s identity, explaining that his anonymity “keeps the focus on remembering” Wayne.

Earlier today, Danish magazine Metal A Day posted side-by-side pictures of Dope and Zer0 from the two bands’ joint October 7 concert in Hamburg, Germany, with photographer Anders Groos Mikkelsen noticing a “specific similarity” between the neck tattoos sported by the frontmen of the two acts. You can find the photographic evidence below.

Shortly before STATIC-X’s 20th-anniversary tour of the platinum-certified “Wisconsin Death Trip” album kicked off in June, Campos told the “Everblack” podcast that finding the “right guy” to front the band was “the big hurdle. But once we figured that out, then we started trying to figure out, ‘How do we represent Wayne in a cool way that he would think was cool?’” he explained. “And we started thinking about all those t-shirt designs that we had of skulls with Wayne’s hair and beard, and how to bring that to the stage. And I think the mask came out pretty cool, in a cool way to represent Wayne, and I know Wayne would have thought it was cool. And then keeping the singer’s identity anonymous also keeps the focus on remembering Wayne and remembering the original lineup of the band and the first record, and it keeps the focus on that instead of having a ‘Van Hagar’ situation. We didn’t wanna present it as ‘Here’s STATIC-X with their new singer.’ It’s not what this is about and it’s not what we’re trying to do. So I think the mask, it helps accomplish that.“