Powerglove (band)
Encyclopedia
Powerglove is an American power metal
band. They are known to play metal versions of classic video game themes. The band is named after the Power Glove
, a NES
controller accessory.
band all the members were in disbanded, and the group decided to further develop Powerglove. The band's first recording was "Dr. Wily's Theme" from Mega Man 2
in early 2003, which was followed by "Storm Eagle" from Mega Man X
and the theme from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
.
The band records their music in various locations and mixes them in a home studio. The band recorded and released its debut EP
, Total Pwnage
, in 2005 (later re-released in 2008). Over the following two years, the band arranged and recorded what would become their debut, full-length album, Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man
. The album met positive reviews.
, Metal Hammer
, and Gamepro
, including interviews with the band members and album reviews.
In May 2008, the band embarked on their first U.S. tour with bands Psychostick
and Look What I Did
. It was during this tour that power metal guitarist Herman Li
invited the band to open for his group, DragonForce
, at the Roseland Theater in Portland
, Oregon
. After this performance, the band was invited to be a part of DragonForce's Ultra Beatdown
U.S. and Canadian
tour, which took place November–December 2008 along with the Finnish
metal band Turisas
.
page. It has been stated that they will most likely record their new album as they recorded Metal Kombat. At this point, the band had demos for three possible songs.
In July 2009, guitarist Chris Marchiel stated in a blog on the band's official MySpace that the band is about to record two albums. The first, Saturday Morning Apocalypse, was centered around TV, cartoon, and movie themes the band grew up with. Some songs mentioned were the Pokémon
theme song, Danny Elfman
's "This Is Halloween
" from Tim Burton
's The Nightmare Before Christmas
, The Flintstones
, and more. The second album, which Marchiel hopes will be released sometime by the end of 2011, will return to the band's brand of video game metal. The only song possibility mentioned for this album was "Snake Man" from Mega Man 3
. The band announced in late July 2009 that they had begun recording.
In 2010, Powerglove toured the U.S. and Canada with Swedish power metal
act HammerFall
and followed that tour immediately with another U.S./Canadian tour with Sonata Arctica
and Mutiny Within
.
Powerglove signed to notable record company E1 Music in May 2010. The TV album, titled Saturday Morning Apocalypse
, was released September 28, 2010, through E1 Music.
Powerglove is a part of the 2011 Summer Slaughter Tour in North America alongside co-headliners Whitechapel & The Black Dahlia Murder.
, they would be phenomenally stupid and they would be funny at first, but get old very fast. He stated that they take a lighthearted approach to their image and live show, but take their music very seriously, and there would be no way to write serious lyrics. On their latest studio album they collaborated with Sonata Arctica
frontman Tony Kakko to record the theme song for the Pokémon
anime series, which is their only song with complete lead vocals, and the Simpsons theme where he provides the eponymous title lyric and an ending choral section.
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
band. They are known to play metal versions of classic video game themes. The band is named after the Power Glove
Power Glove
The Power Glove is a controller accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and the first peripheral interface controller to recreate human hand movements on a television or computer screen in real time. The Power Glove was not popular and was criticized for its imprecise and difficult-to-use...
, a NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
controller accessory.
Early years, Total Pwnage and Metal Kombat (2003 - 2007)
The band was started as a side project of the members various other bands. A melodic death metalMelodic death metal
Melodic death metal is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with elements of death metal. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England and Scandinavia...
band all the members were in disbanded, and the group decided to further develop Powerglove. The band's first recording was "Dr. Wily's Theme" from Mega Man 2
Mega Man 2
Mega Man 2, known in Japan as , is a platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the second installment in the original Mega Man series. The game was released in Japan in 1988, and in North America and PAL regions the following years. Mega Man 2...
in early 2003, which was followed by "Storm Eagle" from Mega Man X
Mega Man X (video game)
Mega Man X, known in Japan as , is a video game developed by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . It is the first Mega Man game for the 16-bit console and the first game in the Mega Man X series, a spin-off of the original Mega Man series that began on the SNES's predecessor, the...
and the theme from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is an American live-action children's television series based on the 16th installment of the Japanese Super Sentai franchise, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. Both the show and its related merchandise saw unbridled overnight success, catapulting into pop culture in mere months...
.
The band records their music in various locations and mixes them in a home studio. The band recorded and released its debut EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Total Pwnage
Total Pwnage
Total Pwnage is the debut extended play by video game metal/power metal band Powerglove released in November 2005, and re-released September 2, 2008...
, in 2005 (later re-released in 2008). Over the following two years, the band arranged and recorded what would become their debut, full-length album, Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man
Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man
-Personnel:* Chris Marchiel - guitar* Alex Berkson - guitar* Nick Avila - bass* Bassil Silver-Hajo - drums* Mixed by Bassil Silver-Hajo and Powerglove.* Produced and Engineered by Powerglove....
. The album met positive reviews.
Rising fame and touring (2008)
Throughout 2008, following the release of the band's album, Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man, the band had found its way into many publications, such as Game InformerGame Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
, Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
, and Gamepro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
, including interviews with the band members and album reviews.
In May 2008, the band embarked on their first U.S. tour with bands Psychostick
Psychostick
Psychostick is a heavy metal band from Tempe, Arizona, known for a silly image and usage of extreme humor in their songs and lyrics. Their style is referred to by themselves and some online album review sites as humor-core....
and Look What I Did
Look What I Did
Look What I Did is an American post-hardcore band, formed in 2001 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The music combines elements of jazz/fusion, hardcore, metal, and progressive pop punk...
. It was during this tour that power metal guitarist Herman Li
Herman Li
Herman Li is a British Chinese musician, best known as a guitarist for the power metal band DragonForce.-Playing style:Li draws influences from rock, all sub-genres of metal as well as video game music and often mimics sounds from popular retro games from the late 80s, early-90s arcade, and PC games...
invited the band to open for his group, DragonForce
DragonForce
DragonForce are an English power metal band from London. Formed in 1999, the group is known for its long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-based lyrics, and electronic sounds in their music to add to their retro video game-influenced sound. Guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman are the only two...
, at the Roseland Theater in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. After this performance, the band was invited to be a part of DragonForce's Ultra Beatdown
Ultra Beatdown
Ultra Beatdown is the fourth studio album by English power metal band DragonForce, released on 20 August 2008 in Japan through JVC and on 26 August 2008 worldwide through Roadrunner Records and Universal Music. Ultra Beatdown is the last studio album to feature ZP Theart on vocals...
U.S. and Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
tour, which took place November–December 2008 along with the Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
metal band Turisas
Turisas
Turisas is a Finnish folk metal band from Hämeenlinna. It was founded in 1997 by Mathias Nygård and Jussi Wickström and named after an ancient Finnish God of war....
.
New albums, more touring, E1 Music (2009 - present)
Since then, the band has begun writing their third album, stated by the band on their MySpaceMySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page. It has been stated that they will most likely record their new album as they recorded Metal Kombat. At this point, the band had demos for three possible songs.
In July 2009, guitarist Chris Marchiel stated in a blog on the band's official MySpace that the band is about to record two albums. The first, Saturday Morning Apocalypse, was centered around TV, cartoon, and movie themes the band grew up with. Some songs mentioned were the Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
theme song, Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
's "This Is Halloween
This is Halloween
"This Is Halloween" is a song by composer Danny Elfman from the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas, performed by the residents of the fictional "Halloween Town", which is the film's main setting. The song is featured in both HalloWishes at the Magic Kingdom and at Disneyland's Halloween...
" from Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
's The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas, often promoted as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, is a 1993 stop motion musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick and produced/co-written by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, a being from "Halloween Town" who opens a portal to...
, The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
, and more. The second album, which Marchiel hopes will be released sometime by the end of 2011, will return to the band's brand of video game metal. The only song possibility mentioned for this album was "Snake Man" from Mega Man 3
Mega Man 3
Mega Man 3, known as in Japan, is a video game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the third game of the original Mega Man series and was originally released in Japan on September 28, 1990. The game localized in North America later in 1990 and in European...
. The band announced in late July 2009 that they had begun recording.
In 2010, Powerglove toured the U.S. and Canada with Swedish power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
act HammerFall
HammerFall
HammerFall is a power metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was formed in 1993 by ex-Ceremonial Oath guitarist Oscar Dronjak.- Early days :...
and followed that tour immediately with another U.S./Canadian tour with Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica are a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, originally assembled in 1995. Their later works contain several elements typical of progressive metal.....
and Mutiny Within
Mutiny Within
Mutiny Within was a metal band from Edison, New Jersey. The band was formed in 2002 by bassist Andrew Jacobs originally as a Children of Bodom cover band. They disbanded in 2011.-Formation :...
.
Powerglove signed to notable record company E1 Music in May 2010. The TV album, titled Saturday Morning Apocalypse
Saturday Morning Apocalypse
Saturday Morning Apocalypse is the second studio album by metal/power metal band Powerglove, released September 28, 2010 through E1 Music. This album strays from Powerglove's usual brand of video game metal, and instead centers around TV, cartoon, and movie themes the band grew up with. This is the...
, was released September 28, 2010, through E1 Music.
Powerglove is a part of the 2011 Summer Slaughter Tour in North America alongside co-headliners Whitechapel & The Black Dahlia Murder.
Vocalist
At one point Powerglove was considering looking for a vocalist, but could never find the right fit for the music. Guitarist Chris Marchiel stated that if they had lyricsLyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
, they would be phenomenally stupid and they would be funny at first, but get old very fast. He stated that they take a lighthearted approach to their image and live show, but take their music very seriously, and there would be no way to write serious lyrics. On their latest studio album they collaborated with Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica are a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, originally assembled in 1995. Their later works contain several elements typical of progressive metal.....
frontman Tony Kakko to record the theme song for the Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
anime series, which is their only song with complete lead vocals, and the Simpsons theme where he provides the eponymous title lyric and an ending choral section.
Current members
- Nick Avila — bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Alex Berkson — guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Chris Marchiel — guitar
- Bassil Silver — drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Session musicians
- Tony KakkoTony KakkoToni Kristian "Tony" Kakko is a Finnish musician, composer and vocalist. He is mainly known as the vocalist, primary songwriter, and creative force in the band Sonata Arctica since 1996.-Biography:...
— vocals (2010) - Simon Jeker — saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
(2007) - Matt Piggot — guitar, synthSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
(2007) - Adam Spalding — bass (2005)
Studio albums
- Metal Kombat for the Mortal ManMetal Kombat for the Mortal Man-Personnel:* Chris Marchiel - guitar* Alex Berkson - guitar* Nick Avila - bass* Bassil Silver-Hajo - drums* Mixed by Bassil Silver-Hajo and Powerglove.* Produced and Engineered by Powerglove....
(2007) - Saturday Morning ApocalypseSaturday Morning ApocalypseSaturday Morning Apocalypse is the second studio album by metal/power metal band Powerglove, released September 28, 2010 through E1 Music. This album strays from Powerglove's usual brand of video game metal, and instead centers around TV, cartoon, and movie themes the band grew up with. This is the...
(2010)
External links
- Powerglove on MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- The 11 Best Video Game Cover Bands - SlobsofGaming.com - I are your favorite gaming website