Powerglove is an American instrumental

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. N ...

. They are known to play metal cover versions of classic video game themes. The band is named after the

Power Glove The Power Glove is a controller accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The Power Glove gained public attention due to its early motion control mechanics and significant marketing. However, its two games did not sell well, as it was ...

, a NES controller accessory.

History

Formation, ''Total Pwnage'', and ''Metal Kombat'' (2003 - 2008)

The band was started as a

side project In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style. Usually these projects emphasize ...

of the members' various other bands. A

melodic death metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavines ...

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'' (stylized as ''Mega Man II'') is a 1988 action game, action-platformer, platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan in 1988 and in North America and PAL region ...

'' in early 2003, which was followed by "Storm Eagle" from ''

Mega Man X is a series of Action game, action-platformer, platform games released by Capcom. It is a sub-series of the ''Mega Man'' franchise previously developed by the same group, with Keiji Inafune acting as one of the main staff members. The Mega Man ...

'' and the theme from ''

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is an American superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s popular culture, ...

''. 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 ''Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man'' is the debut studio album by video game metal/power metal band Powerglove released October 31, 2007. The album contains cover versions of music from various video games, similar to their previous release, '' ...

''. The album met positive reviews. Throughout 2008, following the release of ''Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man'', the band had found its way into many publications, such as

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

, and

GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...

, including interviews with the band members and album reviews. In May 2008, the band embarked on their first

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

tour with bands Psychostick and

Look What I Did Look What I Did is an American band, formed in 2001 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band is known for its intense live show, described by ''Cincinnati CityBeat'' as a "live act capable of unleashing a scary, uncontrolled intensity bordering on dan ...

. It was during this tour that

guitarist Herman Li invited the band to open for his group,

DragonForce DragonForce are a British power metal band from London, formed in 1999. They are known for their long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-themed lyrics and retro video game-influenced sound. The band themselves refer to their music as "extreme po ...

, 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 Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

tour, which took place November–December 2008 along with the Finnish metal band

Turisas Turisas is a Finnish metal band from Hämeenlinna. They were founded in 1997 by Mathias Nygård and Jussi Wickström, and named after an ancient Finnish god of war. Turisas plays folk metal, incorporating elements of power metal and symphonic ...

E1 Music, ''Saturday Morning Apocalypse'', and future albums (2009 - present)

Since then, the band has begun writing their third album, stated by the band on their

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

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 was centered around TV, cartoon, and movie themes the band grew up with. Some songs mentioned were the

Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...

theme song,

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his ...

's "

This Is Halloween "This Is Halloween" is a song from the 1993 film ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' composed and written by Danny Elfman. In the film, it is performed by the residents of the fictional "Halloween Town", which is the film's main setting, and introdu ...

" from

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

's ''

The Nightmare Before Christmas ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (formerly known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American stop motion Animation, animated Gothic film, gothic musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick in his f ...

'', ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...

'', and more. Marchiel stated that the second album, which he had hoped would 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'' (stylized as ''Mega Man III'') is a 1990 action-platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the third installment of the original ''Mega Man'' series and was originally released ...

''. The band announced in late July 2009 that they had begun recording. Powerglove signed to notable record company

E1 Music MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch"), formerly known as Koch Records and Entertainment One (eOne) Music/Records, is an American independent record label and music management company based in New York City. It was formed in 1987 as a music div ...

in May 2010. The TV album, titled '' Saturday Morning Apocalypse'', was released September 28, 2010, through E1 Music. In 2010, Powerglove toured the U.S. and Canada with Swedish power metal act

HammerFall HammerFall is a Swedish power metal band from Gothenburg. The band was formed in 1993 by ex- Ceremonial Oath guitarist Oscar Dronjak. They have released thirteen studio albums. History Early days (1993–1996) HammerFall was formed when g ...

and followed that tour immediately with another U.S./Canadian tour with

Sonata Arctica Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, Finland. Created as a hard rock band named Tricky Beans, they later changed to Tricky Means and finally to Sonata Arctica, when they shifted to power metal. The current lineup c ...

and

Mutiny Within Mutiny Within is an American heavy metal band from Edison, New Jersey. The band was formed in 2002 by bassist Andrew Jacobs. Background Formation, Signing to Roadrunner and debut album (2009–2010) They would go through a number of lineu ...

. Powerglove was a part of the 2011 Summer Slaughter Tour in North America alongside co-headliners

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

and The Black Dahlia Murder. Powerglove released a Japan-only album entitled ''TV Game Metal'', featuring remixed and re-recorded versions of their older songs through Marquee/Avalon Records on July 25, 2012. They will also be limiting touring starting in August to focus on recording their next full-length album, which will return to their video game cover roots. Powerglove began releasing single tracks off their new album "Continue?". The first track was a song from Kirby (Gourmet Race) and the second was a medley of songs from Super Metroid featuring Kraid's Lair. The album "Continue?" was announced with a release date of May 15, 2018.

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

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

, 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 the album '' Saturday Morning Apocalypse'', they collaborated with

frontman Tony Kakko to record the theme song for the ''

'' 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. On the album ''Continue?'' there was a song featuring

vocalist, Marc Hudson.

Members

Current

* Alex Berkson —

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

synth A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s (2005–present) * Bassil Silver —

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, synths (2005–present); bass (2019–present)

Former

* Chris Marchiel — guitars, synths (2005–2015) * Nick Avila —

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, synths, additional

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

(2006–2018) * Ben Cohen — guitars (2015–2024)

Session

Tony Kakko Toni Kristian "Tony" Kakko (born 16 May 1975) is a Finnish musician, composer and vocalist. He is known as the vocalist, primary songwriter, and creative lead of the band Sonata Arctica since 1996. Biography Kakko was born in Kemi, Finland and ...

— vocals (''Saturday Morning Apocalypse'') * Marc Hudson — vocals (''Under the Sea'') * Simon Jeker —

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

(''Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man'') * Matt Piggot — guitars, synths programming (''Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man'') * Adam Spalding — bass (''Total Pwnage'')

Touring

* Gabriel Guardian - guitars, synths (2018–present) * Kevin Kelleher - guitars (2024–present)

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (2007) * '' Saturday Morning Apocalypse'' (2010) * ''Continue?'' (2018)

Remix albums

* ''TV Game Metal'' (2012; Japan-only release) * ''Video Game Metal'' (2014; digital release)

Extended plays

* '' Total Pwnage'' (2005) * ''Flawless Victory'' (2022)

Music videos

* "Batman" (2011) - Directed by David Brodsky

Tributes

* Powerglove contributed the track "Revontulet" on '' A Tribute to Sonata Arctica'' by Ouergh Records (2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Powerglove (Band) 2005 establishments in Massachusetts Musical groups from Boston Heavy metal musical groups from Massachusetts American power metal musical groups Musical groups established in 2005 Video game music cover bands