A Little Slice of Metal: Powerglove

Video Game Music to the EXTREME!!! Well...not really...sort of...

Hello, all you awesome people out there, and welcome back to Rave Up Music! I am your host with the most Barius, and it is time once again for some leather boot pie (which is not that great, speaking from experience) as we have “A Little Slice of Metal.”

You know what I love to do when I am not involved with music, teaching, or writing this blog? No, not that…Or that…definitely not that! Get your mind out of the gutter (you know who you are). No, I actually like to play video games. More specifically, I am what people would call an “Old School” gamer. While many of my fellow gamers are playing Gods of Wars, Call of Duty, and Halo, you can find me playing Super Mario Bros., Sonic the Hedgehog, The Legend of Zelda, and even Duck Hunt. I have some mad skills at Duck Hunt.

I never liked that dog…

One thing that I enjoyed about playing video games is listening to the music that is playing in the background. Whether you are trying to beat the boss on level seven or even the title screen of game, the music of any game helps to set the mood, and helps you to invest more into the game. From the that famous level one music of Super Mario Bros. to the Main Theme to Halo, music has helped to shape the games we all grew up with and continue to play to this day.

So, you may be wonder how does any of this relate to “A Little Slice of Metal”? Everything! There seems to be a trend these days of taken those classic 8 to 16-Bit themes and songs from video games and arranging them with modern heavy metal guitars and drums. If you go on YouTube, you will fine dozens of musicians out there taking those classic themes and giving them their own hard rock twist to them.

I highly recommend listening to 331Erock.

Today, we are going to focus on a relatively new band who has been gaining a pretty good following at video game conventions across the United States, as well as many metal festivals. Today, “A Little Slice of Metal” takes a look at the uniquely amazing group known as Powerglove!

 

Powerglove Members (L to R): Bassil Silver (drums), Nick Avila (bass), Chris Marchiel (guitar), Alex Berkson (guitar)

Band History:

Unlike a lot of other bands I am going to cover on “A Little Slice of Metal,” the history for Powerglove is not an extensive one, but still a good one. Powerglove was formed as a side project from musicians of different metal bands. After a melodic death metal band the members of Powerglove were a part of disbanded, they started concentrating their efforts on Powerglove, which of course is the name of the infamous Nintendo Entertainment System controller accessory. 

"Now you're playing with power!"

They recorded three demo songs to get themselves some buzz in the music and video game industry. Those songs were “Dr. Wiley’s Theme” from Mega Man 2, “Strom Eagle” from Mega Man X, and the ever popular theme song from the hit TV series Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.

This song would have definitely gotten my seven year old self hyped up…

Powerglove independently recorded the EP Total Pwnage in 2005, which included the 3 demo songs, as well as two themes from the Final Fantasy franchise and two themes from the classic game Tetris. Three years later, they released their first full length album, Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man, which featured brand new covers of many video game themes, and the band began to receive recognition from many video game and heavy metal publications, including Metal Hammer and Game Informer. The band also started touring with many other metal bands, including the other video game-inspired band DragonForce on their 2008 U.S. and Canadian Tour.

I might have to talk about the boys of DragonForce in the future…

After finishing their tour with DragonForce, Powerglove returned to the studio to record an album that featured covers of famous television and movies themes instead of video games. The result was Saturday Morning Apocalypse, released by E1 Music in September 2010. They then went on tour with power metal group HammerFall as well as symphonic metal band Sonata Arctica. Today, the band is currently working on their third full-length album, which will be more video game themes instead of television and movie themes.

Style/Genre of Metal:

The style of Powerglove has been described as being a mixed of power metal and nintendocore, a genre of music that mixes more aggressive rock music with the sounds from video games and chiptunes sounds. The video games sounds are usually synthesize sounds produced by the band, but all the guitar, bass, and drums are performed by the members of the band. With the exception of a few songs, the music of Powerglove is all instrumental. When it comes to their live shows and the image of the band…well, think of Powerglove as a less silly version of GWAR. 

Oh GWAR…someday I will get to you in some capacity…

Though a vocalist was considered it the development stages of the band, the members of Powerglove decided against it, for they felt that although they take a lighthearted approach to their image and live shows, they take their music very seriously, and they feel like that lyrics could ruin their songs. Yes, the VIDEO GAME band that dresses up like this…

…takes their music seriously. And I believe them. You have to have some discipline to be able to produce the music they play with that much intensity and accuracy. 

Recommended Songs:

The music Powerglove covers such a wide array of video games and television/movie themes that there is something for every video game nerd and nostalgic television fan out there. Their EP and two LP albums are well-made and cover a good mix of themes and songs, and I highly recommend checking out everything by the group. In addition to the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers theme I posted earlier in the blog, here are some more specific songs to get you started in listening to Powerglove:

From the EP Total Pwnage:

“Eagle Storm”

This is one of the more straight rock songs from the album with some chiptune sounds involved. It has a good tempo and has a lot of energy to it.

“Tetris (Themes B & C)”

This song will fill you full of memories trying to fill the blocks in properly, and how intense it would get doing so.

From the Album Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man:

“So Sexy Robotnik”

This is a nice take on the classic Dr. Robotnik theme from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, with a lot of added guitar riffs speed to it.

“Mario Minor”

Anyone who has ever played a Super Mario Bros. game needs to hear Powerglove's take on several classic themes from the franchise.

“The Duck Grinder”

This song is more inspired by Duck Hunt and does not have a lot of the themes to it. But, it does show the originality of the band and how creative they can be.

From the Album Saturday Morning Apocalypse:

“X-Men”

This is the theme to the 1990s television series. It has a great build up before the main theme kicks in.

“Batman”

It is the famous Danny Elfman theme from Batman. I think that is all I have to say about it.

“Inspector Gadget”

Another great, catchy TV theme that will get stuck in your head, as well as make you bang your head. It also uses the melody of "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Edvard Grieg. Classical+Metal+Inspector Gadget=AWESOME!

“Gotta Catch ‘Em All”

There are actually two versions of this cover of the Pokemon theme, but I recommend the version with guest vocals by Sonata Arctica’s Tonny Kakko. Kakko’s vocals add a new dimension to this heavy arrangement that it makes you want to catch them of them Pokemon.  

Final Comments/Analysis:

Powerglove is a band that has a lot of potential to be remembered long after they are no longer playing music (or video games). The mix of heavy metal music with video games sounds and songs makes them unique among of their metal peers, and it allows them to reach out to a wider audience. They are goofy and silly in performance, but the music has a high level of technical skills and has a lot of intensity to it. If you are a gamer that loves to put on music when playing, I recommend a Powerglove CD to really pump you up as you stomp your video game enemies to the ground. At the same time, the music stands on its own for listening in your car or even moshing in the pit. The future is bright for a band like Powerglove, and they really do have sound that really brings a new dimension to heavy metal music. Thus, I give Powerglove the Metal Horns Seal of Approval!

 Mario and Rob Halford Approved!

If you want to learn more about Powerglove and when they are coming to a city near you, visit the band the band’s website at http://www.vgmetal.com/ .You can also find merchandise, new, and even play a Powerglove game! It is a bit buggy, but it is a lot of fun to play. It is a lot better than playing E.T. the Game.

So terrible…

Well, that brings us to the end of another “A Little Slice of Metal” and another Rave Up Music blog post. Next time, we are jumping out of the mosh pit and marching straight onto the football field. Until then, this is your Barius reminding you to keep on rockin’ and keep on gaming!

 

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