I first heard of Powerman 5000 way back in 1997, I believe the first track I heard was "Organazized." A good song, had some funk and crunch to it. That first album, Mega!! Kung Fu Radio, had a lot of good songs, but it seemed a bit unfocused as if the band wasn't sure what direction they were heading in. The second album, Tonight the Stars Revolt, came out two years later, and was better and remains my favorite release. It had a lot more focus and was just a better all around album. They then made a new album, had some personnel changes, and the album was shelved in favor of creating yet another album. The result was something completely new called Transform. This is probably their most straight forward rock and roll album, but still distinctly PM5K, and a good listen. But enough of that history, what we have to listen to now is a collection of songs that developed during their years of touring Boston, prior to their major label debut. What we get is a look at a band developing their sound, and creating some good songs at it.
Hey! Who new that nu-metal was still a genre for up and comers? I realize that pretty much every genre will have its practitioners new and old, but there is a cyclical nature to these sort of things. In the case of nu-metal and its ilk, they are definitely on a down swing, a way down swing. There are few acts that can get away with these elements today and it is the few that rose to fame when the genre was fresh and have been able to adapt their sound and keep fresh elements in their sound. You know, bands like Korn, Slipknot, Mushroomhead, perhaps Disturbed and their ilk. Yes, I like those bands and nu-metal may not be the best way to describe their sound, but you know what I am saying, you recognize that the style is not as widespread as it was.