Powerman 5000

"Being in a band is as close as I could get to being a superhero," explains Powerman 5000 frontman Spider, whose raging onstage persona belies his natural introspection. "That's what this band's all about for me - it's like being in The Avengers or The Defenders."

Blurring the line between fact and fiction, PM5K's songs are soundtracks to the bizarre scenes playing out in Spider's hyperactive imagination. These musical tales are most often inspired by trash pop culture, superheroes and villains, low-budget action, sci-fi and horror movies, and myriad other phantasmagorical mayhem. "Non-reality is my reality," Spider affirms. "From 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' to 'Night of the Living Dead,' from 'Jaws' to Jawas, from Stan Lee to Bruce Lee - it's all in the music."

A case in point is Tonight The Stars Revolt! (DreamWorks Records), the quintet's second full- length album. The disc is heavy-metal-space-disco joyride influenced in part by the writings of futurist J.P. Saticoy. "All our records have basically been compilations built up over a long period of time," Spider points out. 'Tonight The Stars Revolt! is completely of the moment for us. It sounds like our future, not our past."

The album is also a leap forward in terms of PM5K's growing instrumental expertise (the result of nonstop touring). Guest appearances by Rob Zombie, Limp Bizkit's DJ Lethal and Marilyn Manson's Ginger Fish further up the future-shock ante.

Moreover, with Tonight, Spider and crew are no longer merely paying tribute to their imaginary heroes; they've created pop-cultural reference points of their own, characters, settings and narratives so vivid, they could well inspire the next generation of action rockers.

Powerman's own story begins in 1990, when Spider hooked up with Al 3. The two quickly discovered they shared musical tastes ranging from Black Sabbath to Public Enemy. It wasn't long before they began playing music together. They developed PM5K over the following couple of years, starting the band with bass player Dorian. Soon afterward, Adam 12 came on board as guitarist, and the lineup was eventually finalized with the addition of M.33, also on guitar. The five then set out on a noble quest to fight the evils of "boring rock 'n' roll."

After a handful of live performances, word of Powerman 5000 spread quickly in the Boston music underground and beyond. Before they knew what had hit them, the band was playing to packed clubs all over New England, which brought them to the attention of Boston indie label Curve of the Earth Records.

Curve issued Powerman's True Force EP in October 1994. This was one record justly judged by its cover: an illustration of a huge, menacing Japanese robot lurching over a circa-1970 American muscle car, with a few of Spider's own Big Daddy Roth-esque drawings thrown in for good measure.

Produced on a budget of $600 and recorded in an astounding two days, True Force became a local smash. The commotion did not go unnoticed; several major labels sent A&R personnel with fat checkbooks. But Powerman chose to defer that route, opting instead to continue fine-tuning their musical killing machine. "Back in those days," Spider attests, "What was important was becoming the best band we could be. Playing live and writing were our top priorities."

Within several months, the group had delivered The Blood-Splat Rating System, a full-length album of crunching guitar rock and gut-wrenching psycho raps. Their work earned them Best Metal Album, Best Rap Album and Album of the Year honors in the 1995 Boston Phoenix/WFNX Readers/Listeners' Poll. This acclaim attracted additional legions of hard-core PM5K followers. "The greatest thing about our fans is they are so down with the band," Dorian marvels. "They know every note and every word. There's nothing better than playing for kids like that."

Blood-Splat rapidly sold out its limited-edition pressing. Once again, the majors swooped like hungry vultures. But this time the band was ready. "We were all psyched about the record and knew it was time to take it to the next level," says Al. After weighing their options, Powerman 5000 signed to Los Angeles-based DreamWorks Records and moved west to get into the game.

The band and DreamWorks execs agreed that Blood-Splat deserved a shot at a wider audience. PM5K's major-label debut was thus a supercharged version of The Blood-Splat Rating System called Mega!! Kung Fu Radio. Co-produced by Powerman 5000 and Mudrock and released in February 1997, Mega!! featured completely remixed and remastered versions of the Blood-Splat material along with a few new songs (including the title cut and "File Under Action," a hidden track). Says Spider: "Mega!! Kung Fu Radio was like True Force times 1O - 1O times the power, 1O times the action."

In spring of 1997, PM5K took their act on the road, demolishing many an eardrum on a year-long cross-country tour that paired them with such acts as Korn, Limp Bizkit, Marilyn Manson, Primus, Pantera, Danzig and Coal Chamber. An appearance on Late Night With Conan O'Brien, plus rotation for a pair of videos ("Tokyo Vigilante No. 1" and "Organizized"), rounded out a riotously successful national coming- out.

The band returned to the studio in late 1998 to record tracks for what would become Tonight The Stars Revolt!, co-producing with Sylvia Massy (Tool) and Ulrich Wild (White Zombie, Soundgarden).

Spider invokes the name of "2001: A Space Odyssey" author Arthur C. Clarke to describe Tonight: "The future isn't what it used to be," he quotes, remarking, "If you understand that, you'll understand this album. It's a vision of tomorrow that doesn't exist anymore," a 1964 World's Fair view of the late twentieth century, a nostalgic look at the future."

PM5K's rabid fans have long dreamed of a future that's become present with Tonight The Stars Revolt! In fact, the new disc crushes everything that's come before it from Powerman. Its sheer power, naked aggression and finely tuned songwriting have reached a heretofore unseen level of unreality.

"Today, everybody's trying so hard to keep it real,"' Spider laments. "That puts me to sleep. I say, 'Let's keep it unreal.' Powerman 5000: keepin' it unreal! Now that's more like it."