Powerman 5000 - Tonight The Stars Revolt!
Grade: B-
By Matt Levine
 Powerman 5000's second disc for Dreamworks, "Tonight the Stars Revolt," is one of
those discs where the production takes more of a precedence over the songwriting.
"Tonight the Stars Revolt" thrashes, jumps, and just goes crazy as well as KoRn and the
rest of its followers can, but all of the songs just seem to blend in and seem to rely on a
formula. Each song seems to start out with a slightly rapped, slightly melodic verse and
then explodes into a cacophonous chorus full of guitar riffs that can be found in many
other places. Once you've heard one Powerman 5000 song, you've heard all of them.
This album does exhibit superb production values. Sylvia Massy, probably the most
talented producer that's currently working, saves the album from falling into a bin of
albums from hard-core-without-a-cause bands. She takes all of the bands strengths
(such as the energetic guitar playing) and minimalizes the weaknesses (lead vocalist
Spider's pseudo-Marilyn Manson monotone). Also, Powerman 5000 actually writes
relevant lyrics, which is especially refreshing, since most bands in Powerman 5000's
subgenre only seem to care about sticking cookies up other people's butts. "Tonight the
Stars Revolt" is not a musical masterpiece, but for fans of angry rock music, it is a safe
bet.
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