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 symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

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. ...

. 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 virtual reality mechanics and significant marketing. However, its two games did not sell well, as it was ...

, a

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

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 heavine ...

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'' is an action game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan in 1988 and in North America and PAL regions the following years. ''Mega Man 2'' continues Mega Man (character), ...

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

Mega Man X is a series of action platform video games released by Capcom. It is a sub-series of the ''Mega Man'' franchise. The first game was released on December 17, 1993 in Japan (January 1994 in North America) on the Super NES/Super Famicom; most o ...

'' and the theme from ''

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is a 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 pop culture phenomenon along ...

''. 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 music, video game heavy metal music, metal/power metal band Powerglove (band), Powerglove released October 31, 2007. The album contains cover versions of music from vario ...

''. 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'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...

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 available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

, and GamePro, 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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

tour with bands

Psychostick Psychostick is an American comedy metal band from Tempe, Arizona, now residing in Chicago, Illinois, known for their comical image and usage of humor in their songs and lyrics. Their style is referred to by themselves and some online album revie ...

and Look What I Did. It was during this tour that

guitarist

Herman Li Herman Li (; born 3 October 1976) is a Hong Kong-born British musician who is one of two lead guitarists for the power metal band DragonForce. Li has played with the band based in England since it was formed in 1999 by Li along with Sam Totman, ...

invited the band to open for his group,

DragonForce DragonForce are a British power metal band from London, England. The band was formed in 1999 by guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, and are known for their long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-themed lyrics and retro video game-influenced ...

, 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 (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

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

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

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 are a folk metal band, incorporating elements of power metal and sym ...

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 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 theme song, Danny Elfman's " This Is Halloween" from

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993 ...

's ''

The Nightmare Before Christmas ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increme ...

'', ''

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

'', 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 an action- platform 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 ...

''. 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 eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had ...

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. History Early days (1993–1996) HammerFall was formed when rhythm guitarist Oscar Dronjak quit Ceremo ...

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 lineup ...

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

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

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

vocalist, Marc Hudson.

Members

Current

* Alex Berkson —

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

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

s (2005–present) * Bassil Silver — drums, synths (2005–present) * Ben Cohen — guitars (2015–present)

Former

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

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

(2006–2018)

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 Marc Hudson is a British singer, mostly known for being the current lead singer of the London based power metal-band DragonForce. On 2 March 2011, Hudson was announced as the new singer of DragonForce. His first show with DragonForce was in Augu ...

— vocals (''Under the Sea'') * Simon Jeker —

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

(''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)

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) 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 Nintendocore musical groups