Powerman 5000: Tonight the Stars Revolt! : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Like his older brother Rob Zombie, Powerman 5000's Spider One wasted his youth gorging on Black Sabbath, George Romero bloodfests and Marvel comics, then grew up to become a shock rocker. But unlike Zombie, Spider can't seem to discern the line that separates stupid from satire. On Powerman 5000's second album, the metal riffs are meted out like knuckle wraps, and Spider's vocals are pushed through a meat grinder as he waxes profane about gods and monsters, global annihilation and man-machines hungering for destruction. It's all mildly amusing but far from spine tingling, sort of like a Frankenstein rubber mask. There is one treat to be found among all the cruel tricks: a jackhammer cover of "Good Times Roll" that ramps up the decibel level and turns the Cars' alienation anthem into a headbangers' battle cry. Would that the rest of Tonight the Stars Revolt! achieved that level of feral exuberance. (RS 819)

MARC WEINGARTEN