Review Summary: There's enough head-banging and thrashing for any metal-head to enjoy, but those who feel nostalgic about their videogames will get a little extra out of this album.
To simply describe Powerglove as a videogame cover band would reduce their music to a mere novelty act. The sheer musicianship, imagination, and originality found in Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man, their first full-length, elevates them far above that. Yes, they are playing metal renditions of video game music found in such games as Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, but they aren't playing simple, straight covers. Instead they use the game's music as a frame of reference and jump-off point to take the music further and pay homage to their favorite games while still making interesting compositions.
Based on their album packaging alone you wouldn't guess Powerglove is a DIY band. It is a sleek plastic coated cardboard CD case with the image of a pirate air-ship blasting its way through a city street, the ship's bow bearing a guitar/woman throwing the horns. Hoping you can survive the pirates, axe waving musclebound heroes and warrior skeletons from the album art, you can start listening to the CD with some idea of what's in store for you. While power metal is the first thing that jumps to mind, I wouldn't want to pin their sound down into just one sub-genre of metal.
The album opens with So Sexy Robotnik, a medley of several Sonic the Hedgehog tracks. From the get-go we have chugging riffs and rapid-fire drumming with plenty of double bass. While it could have turned into mindless wankery, it doesn't because it never loses sight of the music they are emulating. You can clearly hear the iconic music from the game under Powerglove's interpretation. They even throw in a saxophone solo during the funky, carnival music interlude taken from the aquatic stage in Sonic 2.
They follow suit with Mario Minor, taking on some of the most instantly recognizable and loved game music in history. The band shouts “Do the Mario!” a few seconds into the song, I guess they want listeners to get hopped up on shrooms and dive down pipes. From then on we get a metal barrage of classic Mario Bros. I never thought I could head-bang to Mario, but it's hard to resist when they move into the castle theme from Super Mario World. Throughout the song both guitarists trade leads, offering different interpretations of the classic Mario Brothers melody.
The mood gets darker with Fight On, the first “epic” (as they said when I saw them live) of the album, even though all the songs feel just as epic. The opening guitar riff sounds almost like something Van Halen would play, and from then on the song crescendos with pounding drums. They take us through several themes from Killer Instinct, playing a cyclical song that goes through several build ups until it reaches a soaring finale ending on the gloomy opening riff.
The shortest song on the album, The Duck Grinder, is literrally a grind-fest. The music is inspired from Duck Hunt. If you remember or still happen to play the game you'll know that there is very little music in the game, mostly a few stoccato bleeps and bloops. Somehow they transformed those little 8-bit nuggets into a lot of thrashing, and they toss in a nice trance-like bass driven interlude that sounds a bit like Dream Theater.
The titular track Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man is based mostly on the song Techno Syndrome from the Mortal Kombat movie. But it mixes in the Metal Man theme from Mega Man 2, which as a similar melody to the Mortal Kombat song. A lot is going on in the song beneath the surface. It opens with a string and horn section, a piano interlude pops in about halfway through, and a small acoustic guitar intermission plays right before the rocking metal finale. It even includes the “mortal kombat!” scream from the original song, only with a slight alteration.
The Legend of Zelda medley, Power, Wisom, Courage, opens with an ocarina playing the Song of Time and moves through various themes. The whole song evokes that feeling of dungeon-crawling through dank, dark castles. It builds to the signature overworld theme where the guitars really soar with the melody. They capture the epic quality of the Zelda games beautifully and makes you wish Link, the game's hero, would fight the forces of evil to a metal soundtrack.
The album closes with Red Wings Over Baron, the longest track, built upon a medley of Final Fantasy IV music. Much like the Zelda track, it captures the epic quality of the game. The song moves through several moods and tempos, slowing down at one point to a beautifully soft, mellow passage. Chugging guitars build up the intensity once again, and when the victory music plays you can't help but get a smile across your face. Though the band makes sure to wipe it off with the thrashing finale.
The instruments are all top notch and impressive, and every member shines. Both guitarists trade leads and rhythm parts throughout, and their technical skill would make John Petrucci proud. They compliment each other well, and neither one outshines the other. The bass stands out, thankfully. It's far too common to lose the bass in the mix or for a bass player to limit himself to playing root notes in this style of metal. He plays plenty of fills and grooves that don't follow the guitarists, as well as moments where he harmonizes with them. He's especially prominent in the softer passages where the guitars tone it down a little, like in Red Wings Over Baron. The drummer is no slouch either, he sets the speedy tempo with plenty of double-bass, but his role isn't just limited to time keeper. Songs have a lot of fills, time-changes, and great cymbal work such as in The Duck Grinder's interlude.
The sound quality is studio level, which is made all more impressive because the band recorded the album themselves in their apartments (stated by them on their MySpace). The sound is clear and every instrument is audible. There's also creative synth programming that includes sounds and music from the videogames. It's never overused, and never sounds cheesy (okay, maybe just a little). The drums are the only instrument that could sound better, notably the bass kicks that sound a little too “clicky” at times, though this might just be a matter of taste. That is only minor complaint. The production quality is better than a lot of other bands that record in studios.
Every song is solid and the album flows very well. I do occasionally skip Vanquish the Horrible Night. Nothing is wrong with the track, it just doesn't hold my attention as well as all the others do. Which is odd, because it's based on Castlevania, which has some of my favorite videogame music. It's still a great track.
Is this album worth checking out if you're not a videogame geek? While it does favor that crowd, the music is so good that any fan of metal, and instrumental albums, should be able to find something they like. Despite being a band about having fun (just look at the track names and album art), they managed to balance that fun with careful, well thought out arrangements, and impressive musicianship. There's enough head-banging and thrashing for any metal-head to enjoy, but those who feel nostalgic about their videogames will get a little extra out of this album.
Powerglove are:
Nick Avila – Bass
Alex Berkson – Guitar
Chris Marchiel – Guitar
Bassil Silver-Hajo – Drums
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