Despite near Blizzard conditions in Reno last Saturday, the long anticipated Rise of the Machines Tour finally kicked off at the Virginia Street Brewhouse. Attendees wrapped around the building outside the freezing conditions, eagerly awaiting entry to catch a glimpse of both Milo Silvestro, the newly unveiled lead singer for Fear Factory, and Xero of Static X’s reconfigured look.

The show started on-time, with Society 1 opening the night. Lead vocalist, Matt Zane brought the energy needed to ramp fans up for the progression of bands. His long black hair whipped around a phallic mic stand set the stage for their performance, encouraging the crowds shouts through his intense twisting and jumping. Overall, a vibrant start to the night that more than made up for the delayed entry into the venue.

Dope followed, feeding and intensifying the energy brought out by Society 1. Though vocalist Edsel Dope was recovering from illness, guitarist Acey Slade, with his purple Cheshire cat-tailed guitar, and bassist Virus slayed the night and engaged fans with their antics and brightly colored makeup. Dope performed a medley of fan favorites, including “Debonaire”, “Die MF Die”, “I’m Back”, and the crowd (and personal) favorite cover of Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”.  While pumping up the crowd for the arrival of Fear Factory, Edsel reminisced about the history of the Rise of the Machines tour, and Fear Factory being an early supporter of both Dope and Static-X, forging the long-standing friendship.

As Fear Factory takes the stage, everyone cheers the arrival of Milo, waiting with baited breath to see how his performance of back-catalog-long-cherished songs will stack up. Within moments as he belts out “SHOCK” it is evident to fans that Milo is a worthy successor, and the crowd cheers voraciously in approval. Milo is clearly in his element, and there are no signs that this fresh-off-the-boat lead is nervous to be performing in front of large sold out crowds. “Edgecrusher” further solidifies the crowds approval of Silvestro. Fear Factory also played some newer releases, including a song from their 2021 album, Aggression Continuum, only performed live a handful of time prior to the Reno date.

Ending the night after a long pause for set-up and dramatic effect, is Static-X. An interesting figurehead shines a light through the crowd and disappears, and one by one, members appear on stage, lastly with Xero’s new stage outfit making it’s Reno debut.  The crowd roars in a wild and warm welcome for the headlining act. A barrage of Static-X favorites are performed with gusto while touching tributes to the late Wayne Static play on the screens. “Love Dump” and “Wisconsin Death Trip” open the night. The band connects with the crowd through witty remarks about burgers-past and commenting anyone who lives in Reno, must be a weirdo. The Reno crowd cheers energetically in agreement, but here, being a weirdo is a compliment. A cover of NIN “Terrible Lie” precedes a very bubbly-snowy wonderland rendition of “So Cold” from the “Queen of the Damned” soundtrack. It’s a magical sight, much mirroring the blizzard-like conditions on the outside of the venue.

Overall, the Rise of the Machines Tour was incredibly energetic, equally parts nostalgic, and completely worth the wait.