▄▄▓▓▀▀▀▀▓▄ ▄▄▄▄▄
██▓▌ ▀█▄▄ ▄█████▀▀▀▓▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▀▀█▄▄ ▀███▄▄▄ ▄ ████▀ ▀▓▄ ▄▄▄▄▓▓▓█▀▀▀████████▓▄
▄▄■▀▀▀ ▀████▓▓▀ ▀██▌ ▐▌▀▓██████▀▀▀▄▄▄█▀▀▀ ▀█▓▓▄
▄▓▓▓▓▄ ██▌ ▄▄██▄▄▀███▌ ▀▓▄ ▄▀ ▀▀█▄▄▄▀▀▓▀▀ ▄▄▄ ▐████▄
▐▌ ▀▀▓▓▄██ ▄▄██████ ▀█▓███▄▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀ ▄▄▄██████▀ ▄▄██████▄▄ ▄██████
▀■▄ ▀▀ ▄▄█▄▐███████▌ ▀▀▀▓████▄▄▄▄▄▄███▓▓████████ ▄██████▀▀███▀▄████▀▀█▄▓
▄▄▓▓▓▀▀███▓▓██████▄▄ ▀▀▓███▀▀▀ ████████▀▄██████▀ ▐█▓█▓▀▀▄▄████▀
▄▓▓▓▀▀▄▄▓▓███▌ ▀▀▓▓██████▄ ▄▄█████▄ ▐███████▌▐██████ ▐▓█▄▄██▀▀▀
▄████ ███████ ▀▓███████▄▐██████▓ ███████ ██████▌ ▄▓█▀▀▀ ▄▄▄▄
▓████▌ ▐██████▌ ▐███████▓▌███████▄ ▐██████ ▐██████▄ ▄▄▓▓███████▄
█████▌ ▐██████▌ ▐███████▀▐▓███████▄ ██████▌ ▀██████████▀▀▀▀████████▓
▀████▓▄ ▐██████▓ ▄██████▀ ▐▓████░████▄ ▐██████ ▀▀▀▀ ▄▄ ▀██████▓
▀███▓▓▄▄████████▄▄█▓▓▓▀▀ ▓▓████▌ ▀█▓▓█▄ ▓█████▌ ▄▄██▀ ▐██████
▀▀▀█████████▓▓▄▄▄ ▄█▓████▌ ▀████▄▐██████ ▄▄▄███▀ ▐██████
▐████████▀███████▓▄▄▄ ▀▀▀██ ▀▀██▓█████▌█████▌ ██████
▄▄▄███████▀ ▀▀▀████████████▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▀▀█▓███▄▀████▄ ▄████▓▓
▄██▀▀ ▀▀▀▓▓▓▄▄ ▀▀▀▀████████████████▄▄▄ ▀▀▀▓▄▄▀▀█▓▓▄▄▄████▓██▓▓
▓██▌ ▀▓▄ ▀▀▀█████████████▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄███████▄▒▓███▀▀▀
▀▓▓▄ ▐██▄ ▄▄██▓▀ ■▄▄ ▀█████████████▓▀▀ ▀▀▀▀██████████▄▄
▀██▓▄▄ ▄████▌█▓███▌ ▀▓▓▄ ▐████████▀▀ ▒ ▄▄■ ▀▀███████▌
▄▓▓▓███████████████▀ ▀█████▄▄ ▐██████▓▓▀▀ ░ ▄▄▄▄▓▓▓▌ ▐█████▀
▀ ▄▓▀▀▀▄▓▀██▓▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄████▀▀▀ ▀▀▓▄ ▄▓▓▓▀▀
▄██▀ ▓████▄ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▀▀▄▄▄
███▌ ▐██▌▀▓█▄ ▄▓▓▓▓▀ ▄▄▓▓█▀▀▀▓▀▀████▄▄ ▀▀███▄▄
████▄ ▄▄██▀ ▀▀▓▄▄ ▄▄▓▓▓▀▀ ▄▄▄▓█▓▀▀░░ ▀▓████▄ ▀████▄
▀████████▀ ▄▄▄▄ ▀▀▀▄▄████▀▀▄▄▄▄███▓▀▀ ▀████▄ ▐█████
▄█▓███▓▓▄▓▀▓▀ ▄▄▄▄▄██████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ ▀▄▀██▄▓██▀▀
▄▓▀▀ ▀████▓▄█▓▓▓███▓█▓▀▀▀ TEAM RNS PRESENTS ▄■ ▐█▄▓██
▀ ▀██░▐██▀▀ ▐█▄ ▄██▌ ▄██▌░█▌
▀ ▄▄ ▀█▄▀██▄▄████▌ARTIST: Powerman 5000 ▐████▄███▀▄█▀ ▄▄
▄██▌ ▀▓▄▀██▄▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▄██▀▄▓▀ ▐██▄
█████▄ ▐█▌▐███▄ TITLE: Transform ▄███▌▐█▌ ▄█████
███████▄▄▄▓░ ▓█████ ██████▄░▓▄▄▄███████
▀█████▓▄▄▄█▐▓█████▌ LABEL: Dreamworks ▐█████▓▌█▄▄▄▓█████▀
▀▀████▀▀▄██████▀ ▀██████▄▀▀████▀▀
▄▄▀▀ ▄██████▀ RIPPER: Team RNS ▀██████▄
▄ ▀ ▄██████▀ ▀██████▄
▄█▓▀ ▄██████▀ ▀██████▄
██▌ ▐██████▌ ▐██████▌
▀██▄ ▐██████ 192kbps - Metal ▐▓█████▌
▀██▄ ▀█████▌ 0hr 45min total- 65.7mb ██████▀
▄▄▀▀███▄▄▀▀███▄ ███▓▀▀
█▓ ▀▀██▄ ▀██▄ RELEASE DATE: 2003-05-20 ██▀
▀▓▄ ▐██▌ ▐██▓▄ RIP DATE: 2003-03-29 ▄██▌
▀▀▄▄▄▄███▀ ▄▓▓█▓██▄ ▄▄▓▓█▓▓▄
▀▀▀ ▄█████▀ ▀▀██▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄███████████▄
▄█████▀▄ ▀▀▀███▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄███████▀▀▀▀ ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ █▄ ▀▀▀▀█████████▀▀▀▀▀ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐▓█ ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ▄█▓█ ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▄▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ track list ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ ---------- ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ 01 Assess The Mess 0:34 ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ 02 Theme To A Fake Revolution 3:25 ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ 03 Free 3:49 ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ 04 Action 3:38 ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ 05 That's Entertainment 3:17 ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ 06 A Is For Apathy 4:16 ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ 07 Transform 4:04 ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ 08 Top Of The World 3:34 ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ 09 Song About Nothing 3:56 ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ 10 Stereotype 3:48 ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ 11 I Knew It 3:35 ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ 12 Hey, That's Right! 3:58 ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ 13 The Shape Of Things To Come 3:37 ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ release notes ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ Here's their second attempt at ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ releasing a new cd. Their previous ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ attempt "Anyone For Doomsday?" got ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ cancelled 2 weeks prior to hitting ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ retail. Track 13 on this cd plays good ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ for about the first 40 secs or so, ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ then goes into skip/static mode. It ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ does the same on the cd itself, so its ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ not the fault of a bad rip. We apologize ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ for that, but this type of problem is ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ out of our hands until we can get ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ another copy or one of the respectable ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ groups out there fixes it. ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ "Asking the listener to 'transform' is ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ sort of like a dare, a challenge," says ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ Powerman 5000 frontman Spider One of the ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ title of the band's new album. "It's ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ saying, 'Change. Be something you're ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ not. Defy expectations."' ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ Transform (set for release May 20, 2003, ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ on DreamWorks Records) is the fourth ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ album from the platinum Los ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ Angeles-based quintet. Its arrival ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ finds Spider characteristically ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ reflective, in this case about mass ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ culture and its impact on him and his ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ audience. ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ "What I've been noticing lately," he ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ continues, "is how the culture dictates to ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ people, especially to kids. It tells ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ them who they are, or worse, who they ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ should be. But it's a bullshit, ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ manufactured version of who they are, ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ created by advertisements you know, ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ 'Become a soda commercial.' It's just ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ ridiculous." ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ Still, Transform isn't simply another ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ call to fight the power. Spider ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ clarifies: "What I'm saying is: We're ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ all fucked. There's a song on the ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ album called 'A Theme To A Fake ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Revolution' that refers to 'a battle ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ won and lost with confusion.' Really, ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ your only chance at a defense against all ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ this is to create confusion. Confuse ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ the powers that want to co-opt who you ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ are. If they can't understand who you ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ are, they can't steal your identity." ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ The notion of transformation also has ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ another meaning for PM5K. Spider ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ acknowledges: "On the surface, the ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ title is also a reference to the new ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ members of the band." That would be ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ bassist Siggy Siursen and drummer Adrian ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ Ost, whose introduction has effected a ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ sonic as well as physical transformation ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ of Powerman 5000. ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ The band first took shape in Boston in ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ the early '90s, after Spider met ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ drummer Al3 and discovered they shared ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ a passion for hardcore of both the punk ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ and hip-hop varieties. PM5K's first ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ full-length album, 1995's independently ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ released The Blood Splat Rating System, ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ made a big impression in Beantown and ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ was named both Best Metal Album and Best ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ Rap Album in a local readers poll. ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ In 1997 Spider, Al3, guitarist Adam 12 ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ and bassist Dorian 27 moved to Los ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ Angeles after signing with DreamWorks ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ Records (they were recruited for the ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ label by A&R exec Ron Handler). That ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ year also saw the release of Mega!! ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ Kung Fu Radio, which presented new songs ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ along with completely remixed versions of ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ the Blood Splat material. ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ Two years later, PM5K added guitarist ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Mike Tempesta aka M.33 and unleashed ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ their third album, the sci-fi-influenced ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ Tonight The Stars Revolt! Thanks to ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ driving, electro-edged tracks like the ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ Top 20 rock hit "When Worlds Collide" ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ and Powerman's relentless touring ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ schedule, the album sold more than a ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ million copies. Follow-up Anyone For ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ Doomsday? was recorded in 2001 and ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ prepared for release, but at the last ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ minute, Spider went with his gut and ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ changed his mind. From a creative ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ standpoint, the record didn't feel ready. ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ "We were literally two weeks in front ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ of this thing hitting the shelves when ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ we decided to pull it," he attests. "We ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ had ads, we had a tour booked, we had ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ posters and whatever all done and ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ ready to go." ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ At first, the band wasn't sure how to ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ proceed. But within that confusion was ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ the potential for transformation. "One ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ thing I said to everybody was, 'Throw ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ the rules out,"' Spider explains. ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ "'Forget what you think this band should ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ be; forget what you think our fans ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ expect. Just follow your instincts."' ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Recalling what came next, he adds with ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ a laugh: "Shortly after I made that ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ statement, two original members Al and ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ Dorian quit. I don't know if the ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ freedom to do whatever scared them or ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ what, but they decided to bail. And ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ that made the stakes even higher." ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ But it also had a liberating effect, ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ which can be heard throughout ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Transform. The album manages to be ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ both harder and more tuneful than its ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ predecessors, stepping away from the ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ techno-intenso soundscapes of Tonight ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ The Stars Revolt! and toward a more ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ traditional rock approach. "We ended up ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ taking a step back to go forward," Spider ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ says. "We stripped away a lot of the ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ artificial nature of the band that ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ we're known for." ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ And they brought on a new rhythm ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ section. Finding drummer Adrian Ost was ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ easy. He was recommended by Edsel Dope, ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ of the band Dope, whom Spider ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ befriended during the Tonight The Stars ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ Revolt! tour. "I knew instantly that ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ Adrian was the guy," Spider recalls. "I ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ think we auditioned two or three other ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ guys, just to see, but finding him was ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ not difficult." ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ Locating the right bassist wasn't so ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ easy. "A lot of people who play bass ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ approach it as if they just didn't feel ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ like learning guitar," Spider allows. ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ "But Dorian was really good, an ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ accomplished bass player. We needed ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ someone who could play as well or ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ better than him." They wound up ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ auditioning 40 bassists before they ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ found Siggy Siursen. ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ Once the revised lineup was in place, ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ Spider took the new PM5K into the ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ studio, en masse, to cut the album as a ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ band. "For the past couple of records, we ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ would create the music in this ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ computerized, Pro Tools environment ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ recording separately, bringing in this ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ riff to lay over that loop," he ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ informs. "It was a very non-organic way ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ of making music. This time, we just got ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ in a room, plugged in and played. We ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ did what we did in the old days, and it ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ made this a better record." ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ In fact, the Powerman sound that ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ distinguishes Transform is much closer ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ to the roar the band makes live. ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Producing the album with Joe Barresi, ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ who engineered Tonight The Stars Revolt! ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ (and who has worked with Queens Of The ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ Stone Age and Pennywise, among others), ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ PM5K captured something raw and ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ bristling. ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ "I think the guitar players were dying ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ to stretch out," Spider ventures. "And ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ the drumming is much more free than in ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ the past. When I listen to this album, ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ I can picture the band playing." ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ Pondering how his musical values have ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ evolved, he says: "It's funny, because ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ I've sort of regressed. I grew up in a ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ suburb of Boston a punk kid listening ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ to Minor Threat and The Clash. I had my ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ first hardcore punk rock band when I was ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ 13, and I had all these idealistic ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ notions about music and what you could ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ do with it. But over the years, I kind ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ of got away from that; once I became ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ part of the whole system of making ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ records, I sort of let it go." ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ Transform is essentially a return to the ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ band's roots, one that Spider realizes may ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ raise a few eyebrows. He can't help but ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ see the humor in the little image ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ problem he's created for himself, ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ remarking: "I'm just waiting for people ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ to say, 'Wait a minute weren't you the ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ guy in the spacesuit two years ago?"' ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ His response? "Yeah, I was the guy in ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ the spacesuit. But a lot of the ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ messages we were putting out there when I ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ was wearing the suit are the same one's ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ we're talking about today. I mean, I ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ guess it's stupid for me to try and ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ explain that 'When Worlds Collide' was ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ not about rocket ships it's actually ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄
▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ about class structure and cultural ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄
▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ conventions. But the great science ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████
▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ fiction has always been social ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀
▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ commentary, and that's what we've tried ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▀▀███▀▄█████▀ to tap into." ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ The book, then, is the same, even if ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ the cover has changed. "It's ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ essential for us to change, throw some ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ curve balls," Spider insists. "I say do ▀█████████
▀▀██▄ whatever you want, whether it's with ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄
▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ music or anything else. Because ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌
▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ ultimately, there is no instruction ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀
▐███▌▄█████▀ manual for living in this world, and if ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀
▄ ▄███▄█████▀ you do manage to find one, I suggest you ▀█████▄
▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ burn it." ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▀███████▀▀
▄█████▀ ▀█████▄
▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄
▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌
█████▌ ███▌ ▐███ ▐█████
▀█████▄ ▄▓██▓ ▄███▓▓▄▄ ▄▄▓▓███▄ ▓██▓▄ ▄█████▀
▀▀███████▀ ▄▄██▀ ▀██▄ ▄██▀ ▀██▄▄ ▀███████▀▀
▄███▀█▄██▀▀ ▄██▀▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▀██▄ ▀▀██▄█▀███▄
▄████████▀▀▓▓▓▄▄▄█████▓██▀▀▀▀██▄ ▄▄██▀▀▀▀██▓█████▄▄▄▓▓▓▀▀████████▄
▄█████▀▄██▌ ▀▀▀▀▀███▄ ▀████▀ ▄███▀▀▀▀▀ ▐██▄▀█████▄
▄█████▌▐████▄ ▄▄▄███▀▀██▄▄▄███▀████▄▄▄██▀▀███▄▄▄ ▄████▌▐█████▄
██████▌ ▀█████▄▄▄█████▀ ███▀▀ ▀▀███ ▀█████▄▄▄█████▀ ▐██████
▀▀████▄▄ ▀▀███████▀▀ ▄▄█▀▀ ▀▀█▄▄ ▀▀███████▀▀ ▄▄████▀▀
▀▀███▄▄▄ ▄▄▄█▓▀▀ ▀▀▓█▄▄▄ ▄▄▄███▀▀
███▌ ▐█▌ ▄▄█▀ █ ▀█▄▄ ▐█▌ ▐███
▀██▄ ▄█▀ ▄▄▄██▀▀ ███ ▀▀██▄▄▄ ▀█▄ ▄██▀
▀▀██▄██████▀▀▀ ▓████ ▀▀▀██████▄██▀▀
▀▀▀▀ ▐██████ ▀▀▀▀
████████
█████▄███▌
▐█████▌▐███
██████▄████▌
█████▌▐█████
█████▌▓█████
▀█▓▀▄▄▄▄▄ █████░██████
▀▓▓████████▄▄ ▐▓███░██████ ▄▄▄▄▄▀▓█▀
▀███████▀▀███▄▄ ▓██████████ ▄▄████████▓▓▀
▀████████▄█▀▀██▄▄ ▀███▌▐███▓▌ ▄▄███▀▀███████▀
▀███████████▀███▄ ▓██▌▐██▓▓ ▄▄██▀▀█▄████████▀
▀██████████▄▄▀▀█▄ ▓██ █▓▓▌ ███▀███████████▀
▀███████████▀██ ▓▓ ▓▓▄██▀▄▄██████████▀
▀▀█████████▄█▌▐▓█▓▌█▓▓██████████▀
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▀▀█████▄ ██▓▓█▄█████████▀▀
▄▄▄▄███████████████████▄▄▄▓▓▀▓▄████▄█████▀▀ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
▄▄▄▄██████████▀▀▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▓▓▓█████████▓▓▓▄▓▀▓▓▄▄▄███████████████████▄▄▄▄
▀███▓▓▓████████▓▓▓████████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀█▀█▄▄██▀█▀▓▓▓▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀█▀██████▄▄
▀▀▀▓▓▓███████▓▓▓▓███████▀▀▀ ▄▄▀▄██████▄▀█▄▄ ▀▀▀████████████████████▀▀▀
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▄▄██▀███▀▀███▀█▄▀████▄▄ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
▄████████ ███ ██▄▀█████▄
▄███████▀ ██▌ ▀████████▄
████▀▀▀ ▐██▌ ▀▀▀████
▐███
██▓
▐█▓▌
▀▓█▄
▀▀