Powerman 5000

Powerman 5000 are a Boston-based alternative metal band formed in 1989. Frontman Spider One (Michael Cummings) is the younger brother of Rob Zombie (Robert Cummings).

Biography

Early Years

In 1990, Spider dropped out of art school and bought a cheap 4-track home studio and drum machine. Working under the title "MC Spider", he recorded "Much Evil" with producer Lamar Lowder. Building on local success, he built a band under the name Powerman 5000. Their style was in the nature of rap/metal that had yet to gain popularity. In 1991, longtime guitarist Adam 12 (Adam Williams) joined the band. In 1994 and 1995, Powerman released two independent records, True Force and The Blood Splat Rating System. Both albums were local successes.

In 1996, Powerman 5000 appeared on Beverly Hills 90210, where one of the characters was to shoot a music video for the song "Strike the Match" from True Force.

Dreamworks and Tonight the Stars Revolt!

In 1997, the band signed to Dreamworks Records and released a re-recording of The Blood Splat Rating System (with two new tracks) titled Mega!! Kung Fu Radio. The band toured and released singles such as "Organizized" and "Tokyo Vigilante #1". In 1999, Guitarist M.33 (Mike Tempesta) joined the band as they got their biggest break. Creating a strange fusion of science fiction (which had always interested Spider) and "action rock" (the term for their own high-energy powerful rock), they released Tonight the Stars Revolt!, which contained the hit singles "When Worlds Collide", "Nobody's Real", and "Supernova Goes Pop". The album sold over a million copies and assured the band's success.

A follow-up album titled Anyone For Doomsday? was recorded and a single ("Bombshell") had been released to radio stations, but the album was cancelled just before its scheduled release. Due to being heavily downloaded illegally, Anyone For Doomsday? was later released under Spider's own new label, Megatronic Records, but has since gone out of print due to legal issues. Arguments exist as to whether the record was cancelled due to the events of the September 11th terrorist attacks and the negative title, but the album was finished and scheduled to be released in August of 2001, a full month before the attacks. Spider has said in interviews that the album was dropped because it sounded too much like the previous album and that he wanted to release something fresh and different instead of repeating himself. Conflicts thereafter caused longtime members Dorian 27 (Dorian Heartsong) and Al3 (Allen Pahanish) to leave the band. Ad7 (Adrian Ost) and Siggy Sjursen were brought in to replace them. Ironically, Bombshell resurfaced, as the entrance music for the WWE wreslting tag-team, The Dudley Boyz.

The Band's Transformation

In 2003, the band released Transform, a more punk-fuelled album, completely dropping the costumes that had been featured throughout the band's Tonight The Stars Revolt! era. Containing the hit singles "Free" and "Action", the album sounded much more live and less filled with industrial metal electronics. After the release of Transform, Dreamworks Records was bought out by Interscope Records, and Powerman 5000 decided not to make the move. Undeterred, Spider continued with his own offshoot label Megatronic Records. In 2005, new music was released, both in the form of a rarities album titled The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Vol. 1 and in new music from an upcoming album.

Destroy What You Enjoy

A new tour was also started, but M.33 had left the band and Adam 12, while present on the upcoming album, was not touring. Former Alien Ant Farm guitarist Terry Corso and former Half-Cocked (the first band on Spider's label) guitarist Johnny Rock were brought in to round out the live show. The band has recently completed their new album, called Destroy What You Enjoy due out on August 1, 2006. The band has announced that they are signed to DRT Enterainment, who will release their upcoming album, of which the song "Wild World" is the new single and video, and will usher in Powerman 5000 to a new era.

The Powerman Influence

Powerman 5000 was credited for playing the song Almost Dead in the game Shadow the Hedgehog, which can be found in the album Lost and Found : Shadow the Hedgehog Vocal Trax. Powerman 5000 has also released tracks to games, such as FreQuency (with its sequel, Amplitude, and Guitar Hero), MX vs. ATV Unleashed, Gran Turismo 3, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder, SX SuperStar and WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW. Frequency featured "Danger Is Go!", off of their Anyone For Doomsday album. MX vs. ATV Unleased featured "Heroes and Villains", THPS2 featured "When Worlds Collide", SX SuperStar and Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder featured "Bombshell" and Smackdown! vs. RAW featured "Riot Time", "The Last Night on Earth", and "The Way It Is", all of which have close sound to their Transform album. Their hit song Action was also the title track for the EA Sports game NASCAR Thunder 2004. Moving on into movie soundtacks, Powerman 5000 recorded "Ultra Mega" for the Dracula 2000 soundtrack, "The End is Over" for the Titan A.E. soundtrack, a remix of Son of X-51 for the Bride of Chucky soundtrack, a cover of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Relax for the Zoolander soundtrack, and included a live performace of Get On, Get Off for the Scream 3 Soundtrack.

Band Members

Members 2005-Present

Spider One- Vocals
Siggy Sjursen (Siggy 00)- Bass
Adrian Ost (Ad7, Mr.7)- Drums
Terry Corso- Guitar
Johnny Heatley (Johnny Rock)- Guitar

Members 2002-2005

Spider One- Vocals
Adam Williams (Adam 12)- Guitar
Mike Tempesta (M.33)- Guitar
Siggy Sjursen (Siggy 00)- Bass
Adrian Ost (Ad7, Mr.7)- Drums

Members 1999-2001

Spider One- Vocals
Adam Williams (Adam 12)- Guitar
Mike Tempesta (M.33)- Guitar
Dorian Heartsong (Dorian 27)- Bass
Allen Pahanish (Al 3)- Drums

Members 1991-1998

Spider One- Vocals
Adam Williams (Adam 12)- Guitar
Dorian Heartsong (Dorian 27)- Bass
Allen Pahanish (Al 3)- Drums
Jordan Cohen- Percussion

MC Spider

MC Spider (Spider One)- Vocals
Brian Collymore (DJ Brian)- DJ

Discography

Studio Albums

EPs

Much Evil (12", 1990)
A Private Little War (5 song cassette, 1993)
True Force (1994)
The Korea EP (2005)

Compilations

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Vol. 1 (2004)

Single Chart Positions

Year	Song	Modern Rock Tracks	US Mainstream Tracks	Album
1999	"When Worlds Collide"	18	16	Tonight the Stars Revolt!
2000	"Ultra Mega"	-	38	Dracula 2000 Soundtrack
2000	"Nobody's Real"	23	18	Tonight the Stars Revolt!
2001	"Bombshell"	-	26	Anyone for Doomsday?
2003	"Free"	38	10	Transform
2003	"Action"	-	27	Transform
2006	"Wild World"	?	?	Destroy What You Enjoy

Music Videos

"Wild World" (2006)
"Action" (2003)
"Free" (2003)
"Relax" (2001)
"Bombshell" (2001)
"Supernova Goes Pop" (2000)
"Car Crash" (2000)
"They Know Who You Are" (2000)
"Nobody's Real" (1999)
"When Worlds Collide" (1999)
"Organizized" (1998)
"Tokyo Vigilante #1" (1997)
"EPK" (1997)

Powerman 5000 links

American musical groups | Heavy metal musical groups | Industrial music groups | Massachusetts musical groups

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