Wayne Static, founder of the California metal group Static-X has died, according to a message posted on Static-X’s Facebook page Saturday night.
“Platinum selling musician Wayne Richard Wells, better known as Wayne Static, passed away at the age of 48,” the Facebook post said.
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“Wayne Static was the enigmatic former frontman and namesake of Static-X, who later forged a successful solo career. Wayne was scheduled to co-headline tours with Powerman 5000 and Drowning Pool over the next several months. No additional information is available at this time,” the statement continued.
The singer and guitarist’s publicists at FiXT Publicity also confirmed his death in a press release.
Static founded his namesake band in 1994 in Los Angeles. The group signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1998 and released their platinum-selling debut album, “Wisconsin Death Trip,” a year later.
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The band, whose sound was described as nu-metal, released five more studio albums over the next decade before going on hiatus in 2010.
Static went on to release his debut solo CD “Pighammer” in 2011.
Several musicians including Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins and Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour tweeted their condolences.
Below are the tweets as well as the music video for Static-X’s hit “Push It”
https://twitter.com/Billy/status/528893858885926913
My heart goes out to Wayne's family. He was my friend.Many shows and tours together. I'm stunned and shocked. RIP my dear friend #speechless
— Aaron Lewis (@Aaronlewismusic) November 2, 2014
I am absolutely devastated to hear about Wayne Static's death. A good man and a good friend. My thoughts are with his family and friends.
— PANDEMIC! AT THE DISCO (@CoreyTaylorRock) November 2, 2014