{"id":20797,"date":"2026-06-11T05:33:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T10:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/?p=20797"},"modified":"2026-06-11T05:33:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T10:33:03","slug":"mephisto-odysseys-mikael-johnston-receives-riaa-gold-certification-for-his-crucified-dub-of-static-xs-push-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/?p=20797","title":{"rendered":"Mephisto Odyssey\u2019s Mikael Johnston Receives RIAA Gold Certification for His \u201cCrucified Dub\u201d of Static-X\u2019s \u201cPush It"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/unnamed-5-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20798\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/unnamed-5-3.jpg 800w, https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/unnamed-5-3-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/unnamed-5-3-768x384.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Alternate version developed with Wayne Static during the band\u2019s early Warner Bros. era earns Gold status, highlighting one of Static\u2019s most notable creative collaborations outside Static-X<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The RIAA has officially certified Static-X\u2019s iconic single \u201cPush It\u201d as Gold. Among the versions featured on the original 1999 maxi-single was the \u201cCrucified Dub,\u201d an alternate version created by Mikael Johnston of Mephisto Odyssey with creative input from Wayne Static.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Johnston recently completed a 2026 remaster of the track at Pop Twist Studios. The updated version is now streaming\u00a0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The accompanying video was edited by filmmaker Matt Zane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wayne Static did not just approve of the \u201cCrucified Dub\u201d \u2014 he embraced it, recognizing the creative chemistry he shared with Johnston as something distinct from the core Static-X sound. That connection became the foundation for an ongoing creative partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Static later contributed vocals and writing to Mephisto Odyssey\u2019s \u201cCrash\u201d from the album&nbsp;<em>The Deep Red Connection<\/em>&nbsp;. The track was featured on the&nbsp;<em>Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker<\/em>&nbsp;soundtrack, received significant alternative rock radio play and MTV2\/MTVX rotation, and was supported by a music video directed by Len Wiseman, featuring Koichi Fukuda on guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the following years, Wayne Static continued to work with Johnston whenever he wanted to explore material outside the traditional Static-X framework. Johnston and Mephisto Odyssey contributed remixes and alternate versions for several key tracks, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cLove Dump\u201d (Mephisto Odyssey Voodoo Mix) \u2014 featured on the 2001 film\u00a0<em>Valentine<\/em>\u00a0soundtrack<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cCold\u201d (Mephisto Odyssey Remix) \u2014 released on German promotional singles tied to the\u00a0<em>Queen of the Damned<\/em>\u00a0soundtrack and distributed to winners of a Static-X fan contest<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Additional remixes for Static-X tracks including \u201cThis Is Not\u201d and \u201cBlack &amp; White\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Johnston and Wayne Static remained close collaborators and friends until Static\u2019s passing in October 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to his own work, Johnston has become a visible supporter of filmmaker Matt Zane\u2019s upcoming unauthorized documentary on Wayne Static and Tera Wray, a project that has faced resistance in some circles. Johnston has granted Zane permission to use his 2025\u20132026 reimagining of \u201cCRASH: Reborn\u201d in the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWayne was genuinely happy with how the \u2018Crucified Dub\u2019 turned out, and that trust led to us working together on several projects over the years,\u201d Johnston said. \u201cI\u2019m proud of the music we created together, and I\u2019m happy to support Matt\u2019s documentary. Wayne\u2019s story deserves to be told honestly, not filtered or controlled by people with their own agendas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As interest in Wayne Static\u2019s unreleased recordings and unfinished projects continues to grow, Johnston\u2019s long and well-documented history with Static has placed him at the center of ongoing discussions about how the singer\u2019s legacy should be preserved and presented moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mikael Johnston continues to work at Pop Twist Studios in Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"nv-iframe-embed\"><iframe title=\"Static-X - Push It (Mephisto Odyssey Crucified Mix) 2026 Remaster\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OMnyrhmMTew?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alternate version developed with Wayne Static during the band\u2019s early Warner Bros. era earns Gold status, highlighting one of Static\u2019s most notable creative collaborations outside Static-X The RIAA has officially certified Static-X\u2019s iconic single \u201cPush It\u201d as Gold. Among the versions featured on the original 1999 maxi-single was the \u201cCrucified Dub,\u201d an alternate version created&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/?p=20797\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Mephisto Odyssey\u2019s Mikael Johnston Receives RIAA Gold Certification for His \u201cCrucified Dub\u201d of Static-X\u2019s \u201cPush It<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20797"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20799,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20797\/revisions\/20799"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}